Soldier, Sailor, Jedi, Sith
by Scooter
Summary: This time, Ranma didn't fall into Nyanniichuan, but a different spring. RSMSW cross may the Kami and G. Lucas have mercy on us all. Revision 2.0. Hey look, a new chapter.
1. Prologue w nifty keen Lucasfilms scroll

**It is a time of darkness. In a galaxy far, far away, a senator elected to the chancellorship and granted emergency dictatorial powers by the Senate has elevated himself to Emperor on the wake of his victory over the Trade Federation and the Separatist movement. The clonetroopers of the Grand Army of the Republic have dealt with their Jedi leaders in a swift and violent manner as though the Jedi were wheat for harvesting.**

**The Empire is quickly consolidating its forces and its systems. New governors that support the new regime are appointed by the Emperor, with terrifying effects on the nonhuman inhabitants, as whole planets are enslaved as labor for the Imperial war machine. Any form of resistance against the new regime is met with swift and sudden reprisals.**

**The Emperor's Sith Lords are hunting the Jedi to extinction with fanatical determination, driving the survivors from their bolt holes and hideaways...**

oooooooooooo

In the depths of deep space, a Corellian freighter frantically tried to escape from her pursuers. The YT-1300 danced and weaved as it sped away from the Imperial battleships chasing the pilot. The ambush had been perfect: An Interdictor-class cruiser in the spacelanes escorted by a small battle fleet—10 Imperial-class Star Destroyers, and equal numbers of cruisers and destroyers. Not to mention numerous TIE fighters. All for one Jedi.

Emerald green turbolaser and laser bolts flew past the cockpit of the freighter, as its pilot and one of the few surviving Jedi, Tarquin Lim, glanced at his status boards. Shields were draining rapidly as they absorbed the impacts of the Imperial energy weapons and missiles. The ship's computer was reporting minor faults in just about every system; faults that were creeping up towards more serious and pronounced problems. One board he kept a continual eye on. It showed his range from the Interdictor that pulled him out of hyperspace. As it increased, he placed his hand on the hyperdrive levers. "May the Force be with me," he said as he activated the faster-than-light engines, hoping he was far enough away that the gravity well generators were far enough away.

For a brief moment, as the freighter began accelerating towards lightspeed, everything seemed normal. But the stretched out stars began to take on an orange glow and swirl around. Alarms began sounding throughout the ship, as gravitational and temporal forces collided with each other within the wormhole. Pursuing TIE fighters which had been dragged into the wormhole were crushed like eggs as their hulls collapsed from the gravity. Lim fought with the controls of his ship, trying to pull his freighter out of the wormhole, but to no avail. Letting the Force be his guide, the young Jedi sought to ride the gravity and temporal waves that buffeted his freighter, as opposed to fighting them.

The wormhole opened at the edge of an unassuming planetary system on the far side of the universe, in an outer spiral arm of an unassuming galaxy. The damaged freighter emerged through the other end of the wormhole, at speeds approaching the speed of light. Jedi Lim immediately began trying to correct the situation. "Coruscant, we have a problem," he muttered, as he took stock of what was left of his ship. All across his boards, master caution and warning lights were dancing like a Twi'lek dancer he'd known on Tatooine. "Hyperdrive is off line, main engines are red-lined, inertial dampeners red-lined, shields off line, reactor approaching red line," he muttered as he recounted each fault that had crept up on the voyage through the wormhole. "It's times like this I wish I had an R2 unit around."

The Jedi began applying reverse thrust from the maneuvering jets to slow the ship down before engaging the main thrust. He didn't want to overstress his already damaged engines, but there was no way to slow down with out them. Slowly Lim increased the thrust to his engines. The freighter began slowing down as it passed the fifth planet, and into the asteroid field separating the outer five planets from the inner four.

As the crippled ship approached the blue-green planet in the third orbit from the lone star, there was a loud BANG from the rear of the ship that reverberated through it's very core. Except for minor emergency lights, and the monitors kept alive by solar power, the ship grew dark. The main engines sputtered, then stayed on, the sputtered some more, before finally dying. Lim had just enough fuel in the maneuvering jets for a semi-controlled entry into the planet's atmosphere. The freighter hit the atmosphere and almost immediately the underbelly and leading edge of the hull began glowing red, as air molecules impacted against the hull at exceedingly high Mach numbers. Small antennae vaporized from the heat, while the barrels of the belly-mounted quad laser began to grow soft, before melting off. The transparent steel viewports around the gunner's position failed from the extreme temperatures and ruptured.

With a cool detachment that a Jedi has, Lim noted the loss of pressure in the rest of the ship, along with the alarms indicating a severe increase in temperature. He fought the increase in drag on manual controls, as the ship plummeted through increasingly thicker atmosphere. As the auxiliary altimeter—an ancient pressure-driven dial gauge centered near the hyperdrive levers—wound down like a clock with a broken spring, Lim had to choose between riding it out, and hoping for a soft landing, or ejecting. Neither option was much of a choice if the atmosphere of the planet wasn't breathable; especially as another set of bangs reverberated through the ship.

With what control he had now lost, Lim reached for the ejection handles, and trusted in the Force that his planet had a breathable atmosphere. As he pulled up on the handles, triggering the ejection sequence, Lim smiled sardonically that the eccentricity of his hobby—an ancient Alderaanian hobby known as skydiving—was actually going to save him right now.

With a roar, the transparent panes and support structure above his position blew off, followed moments later by his ejection seat. He separated from the seat, and his parachute opened, allowing the Jedi to fall like a leaf to the valley fifteen thousand feet below him.

oooooooooooo

**Tokyo  
**_Sometime in the near future_

Sailor Pluto materialized amid the ruins of what was the capital of Japan, and what would have been the seat of the new Silver Millennium. A blood red sun glared down on the ruins, as crows and ravens circled the skies. _How could I have not foreseen this new enemy?_ Walking through what was once Juuban, now a blasted ruin, the Senshi of Time almost, but not quite, freaked when she saw Rei's lifeless form lying like a broken doll amid the rubble. She did, however, lose her "Ice Queen" façade, as she knelt next to Mars, and closed her sightless eyes, as tears started to fall from her ruby eyes.

Walking further on, Pluto noticed a long blonde ponytail. That was when the formerly cool, calm, collected Senshi of Time lost it. Usagi may not have been the best fighter, but she was her princess, and the daughter of the woman Setsuna Meiou pledged her fealty to all those millennia ago. "My Queen," Pluto said, finally acknowledging Usagi's future role, as the tears came unbidden to her eyes. "I am so terribly sorry, Usagi, that this happened. I had no idea this would have happened.

"I swore to your mother my undying loyalty; my life before yours. And I will ensure that this becomes a minor alternate timeline. That this never happens again." Setsuna jumped to Nerima, where she hoped, no, prayed that the person she needed was there. Nerima, known for the number of insanely powerful martial artists hadn't escaped the devastation that wreaked the capital, just more corpses scattered around the ward. Running to the Tendo Dojo, her hopes were dashed. _There still may be a chance_, she thought.

Amid the wreckage, a half-submerged corpse of a panda lay in the koi pond. A length of chestnut brown hair was barely visible in the wreckage of the house. But what caught her eye was under the rubble that had been the outer wall. A red pigtail stuck out of the stone and masonry. "Hope died here today," she said quietly. "Hope for humanity and the future." With tears still streaming down her cheeks, the last surviving Senshi teleported back to her castle outside the time stream.

"I failed them. I failed all of them," she said amidst sobs.

"**_There is a way to save them,_**" a booming mental presence "said". "**_You of all people should have known that. But to save them, you must sacrifice your dreams of Crystal Tokyo._**"

"But that means violating the time stream. But if I do that…then this timeline becomes a dead end, and a new one will be created. I can be such an idiot sometimes," Setsuna said, cursing herself. She had the Time Gates cycle back to through the current timeline, and saw when and where the legions of white armor-clad soldiers began their invasion of the Earth. Strange looking fighters, a sphere with two vertical "wings" swept through the skies, defeating what JASDF fighters took to the air. The battle for Tokyo looked like a scene from _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ as MLRS missile launchers, tanks and attack helicopters rained fire on the invaders. But the ponderous armored walkers roamed the streets of Tokyo, the Type 90 tanks and Type 89 IFVs useless against the onslaught.

Not surprisingly, one of the landing points was the Kuno Mansion, where the samurai wannabe had been talking with a form in dark robes. "Ranma…this all stems from the 'Wild Horse' of Nerima; Mr. Chaos Theory Incarnate. All I have to do is try to prevent him from falling into the Nyanniichuan. But with his aura of Chaos, I won't be able to predict or prevent which spring he falls into."

"**_If he does not heed the Guide, then all we can do is pray that he falls into the proper spring. There is one not far from the Nyanniichuan that would be powerful enough in cursed form._"**

Pluto smiled, her tears drying forgotten on her cheeks and sailor fuku. "Then let's change history." A sweat drop formed on the side of the donut-shaped monolith. "And if something other than Crystal Tokyo results, then I will be quite happy with the results. Just as long as my Queen will live again."


	2. Chapter 1

**Jusenkyo  
**_4 months before Ranma would normally arrive in Nerima_

It's a familiar scene—overweight and bald sensei and his student trudging up the hill to the Valley of Sorrows. The guide begins his spiel as father and son begin sparring atop the bamboo poles. Ranma gets in his successful defensive kick, sending the overweight martial artist into the Shonmaoniichuan. A splash fills the Valley, followed by a growl as a giant panda jumps out and attacks his son. A successful hit sends the shocked pigtailed martial artist flying over the Nyanniichuan. He grabbed the pole that was in the Yi-yan-yi-jiao-fei-zi-ren-chi-yuan-nii-chuan (Spring of Drowned One Eyed, One Horned Flying Purple People Eater) and used his momentum to slingshot back towards his father.

With a solid hit in the gut, Genma flew back, landing near the Guide's hut. Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion enforce themselves on Ranma. The successful flying side kick that hit Genma in the stomach caused the pigtailed boy to go flying backwards.

Gravity began to reassert itself on Ranma as he flew over the Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan (Taro's first spring), landing in one of the more overgrown springs. "Mr. Customer fall into Spring of Drowned Warrior from the Stars. Very tragic tale of how warrior fall from the sky, landing in spring in early history of Training Grounds.

"Musk warrior accidentally mix spring with Chisuton, making curse permanent." The Guide was wrong, since it had been the nature of the Force in conflict with the chaotic nature of Jusenkyo's magic. Genma-panda and the Guide watched as the waters of the pool boiled and bubbled like the witches' cauldron in Shakespeare's _Macbeth_. The end result was a Ranma that looked a number of years older, and wiser.

"Wha—what happened?" Ranma asked, his voice a deep, rich baritone.

"Mr. Customer fall in Spring of Drowned Warrior from the Stars." The Guide ran back into his hut, and could be heard rummaging around.

Ranma looked at his father. "What happened to you, Oyaji?" There was calm about the pigtailed martial artist that started to frighten Genma.

I fell into Spring of Drowned Panda. Genma-panda replied, pulling a sign from…somewhere.

"This was found next to the spring by the very first Guide. All Jusenkyo guides told to hold on to this until the Warrior returned." The Guide handed Ranma an extremely worn leather looking pouch and silvery cylinder. Opening the pouch, Ranma pulled out a dark brown robe that surprisingly didn't look too moth eaten and a utility belt with a hook for the cylinder.

Setting the robes and belt down, he picked up the cylinder, accidentally activating it. As a solid shaft of pure energy formed, filling the hut with its humming blue light, Ranma's hands moved to seemingly familiar positions on the metallic hilt. He swung the energy blade around in a seemingly complex pattern, the pitch of the blade's hum changing as it sliced through the air. Ranma took on this dream-like look on his face, as he remembered his training under various Jedi Masters, battles fought during the Clone Wars, friends and lovers throughout the Republic, and the beginning of the dark times for the Republic, and the persecution of the Jedi, led by one fallen Knight.

"I seem to remember…I remember my arrival on this planet…Earth, correct?" Genma-panda nodded. Ranma looked at his father, and felt the emotions rolling off the cursed martial artist. Sloth, greed, envy, pride, gluttony all controlled him. And all were paths to the Dark Side. Squatting for a moment, Ranma thought about remaining with his father. The Force had given him quite an insight if he'd remained with his father. But he was also mindful of his first instructor had said—"Uncertain the future is. Always in motion, it is." Ranma looked at his father. Part of him was torn by family loyalty, but there was a tremor in the Force, a warning to the reborn Jedi. He was granted a momentary vision, of the future. And it was a dark future, with the Empire ruling this planet.

As he looked at his father, there was sadness on Ranma's face. To stay with his father would lead to the wanton death and destruction of all he loved, or be corrupted by the Dark Side. "Father, I must leave you. If you find my mother, tell her that I left for honor."

Genma was about to pull out another sign, to argue the fact, when his son donned the robes, and left the hut.

**Tokyo**  
_Some three months after Jusenkyo_

Ranma Lim walked down the streets of downtown Juuban, unnoticed by the crowds of the ward. In the three months it took for him to get to the Embassy in Beijing, the former Saotome's appearance shifted between a composite of the man who drowned into the Spring three thousand years ago and the boy who fell in sparing with his father. When he arrived at the Japanese Embassy, he looked into his father's past, and noted the outstanding warrants for petty crimes committed by him, and in his, Ranma's, name. For that stain, when getting new papers, Ranma legally changed his name.

During his journey back to civilization, Ranma also took the time to refine the two styles of combat he knew—Musabetsu Kakutou Saotome-Ryu and the Jedi arts. No longer did he fight like a Jedi or a Saotome, but as a conglomerate of the two. Nor did he act like the rude young boy he had been only three months ago, or as the sophisticated, urbane Jedi. He was polite, although brash at times, focused in his fights, but never insulting or taunting, and always with an eye on innocent bystanders. And he fought when fighting was the last resort when he couldn't talk his way out of it.

The Japanese Jedi looked around at the vibrant city. The Force, albeit unrecognized by any except Lim, was alive in this place. And it made it easier for him to hide, if the Empire was still looking for him. "The paper currency the Embassy made me sign for isn't enough. I'll have to find employment." He continued past the Crown Arcade, barely feeling a Force signature close to his own.

"Come on, Rei," Usagi bawled, "can I borrow some money? I'll pay you back."

"No, meatball head," the Senshi of Fire growled. "You still owe me from the last time, when we went to that American ice cream parlor. You just had to try all 31 flavors, didn't you?"

"Rei, you're so mean!"

Minako and Makoto looked at each other, and laughed at the antics of the two. Out of the corner of their eyes, they caught a glimpse of Ranma walking past the arcade. Both swooned over him, Makoto remarking just how much he looked like her old sempai. "Mako-chan," Ami said. Peering over the book she was reading, "you say that about every boy who walks by."

"But Ami," Makoto said with a bit of a whine in her voice, "this time I think I'm right. At least, though, he looks like my long lost brother." She resolved to ask her mother that night.

Ranma stood at his potential employer, classified section in hand. In front of the Jedi was Juuban High School, whose school board was looking for a physical education teacher. As deceitful as it was, hacking into the Ministry of Education's computers from an internet café, without any trace of intrusion, and creating his records was child's play for the Jedi. He'd done it countless times on special operations against the Separatists for the Republic, and against the Empire. To him, Earth's computer security was a joke. Just to see how far he could get, he found an interesting file buried deep within in the American Air Force's computer systems—something called the "Stargate Project". He left after a quick perusal.

With his skills in Anything Goes, and in the Force, he felt that he would get the position. And while talking to the administration, he discovered why he was the only applicant for the position. No one in Japan wanted to work in Juuban, because of its high number of unusual incidents. Of course, there was one school in Tokyo that was worse, if not for the occasional, yet unexplainable, bouts of food poisoning, but for the sheer madness of the student body, and that was Furinkan Koukou. Ranma walked in for his interview, and walked out fifteen minutes later, with the job, and an advance on his salary to find an apartment.

oooooooooooo

In a modest house, in a modest residential section of Juuban, Makoto Kino was busy helping her mother with dinner. "Mom, whatever happened to my brother?"

Nodoka Kino looked at her daughter, taking her eyes off dinner. "Why do you ask, Mako-chan?"

"Well, my friends and I were at the Crown Arcade, and I saw someone who looked like an older version of Ranma."

Nodoka say on a stool and thought for a moment. "I guess you were too young to remember your brother's leaving. Your father took him on a ten year training trip, promising me to turn Ranma into a 'Man amongst Men' or Genma'd commit seppuku for failure. I don't know why he had Ranma sign that damned contract.

"But, a few years after they left, a private investigator came by looking for Genma. She said she'd come here on behalf of a family know as the Daikoku, and wanted to know where he was, and where was Ranma. It seemed that my darling ex-husband sold our son to them for a bowl of rice, pickles and two fish. You were with your grandparents in Okayama, so you didn't know about it.

"The investigator had a file on Genma as thick as the Oxford English Dictionary, the unabridged version. She detailed to me just about every last thing that Genma had done to our son, all his engagements, barbarous training methods up to that point, and his pitiful education." Somewhen, the Senshi of Time sneezed and smiled. Her subterfuge had worked.

"So why'd you divorce Pop, Mom?"

"Genma was a superb martial artist, having spent most of his life training with his friend Soun. But as a husband, he was atrocious. He wouldn't get a job, just trained our son at home. But when the bills started coming faster that I could pay them, something in me snapped, Mako-chan. Up to that point, I had been the dutiful housewife, but it was time to end the farce of a marriage I was in. I filed for divorce with Genma in absentia, claiming he was failing to fulfill his duties and responsibilities of the marriage. The divorce was granted and I had your name, Ranma's name and my name transferred back to the Kino registry."

The 14-year-old looked at her mother. "Wow, I didn't know that."

"Why do you think you have my maiden name, instead of that fat fool's last name. Besides, I did some digging on my own about Genma's clan, and realized that while they have a samurai background, they were little more than bandits raiding unprotected villages. Had I know what I know now, I'd have never married that fat bastard," Nodoka said, virtually spitting on the floor.

"Wow, I guess I never thought about it that way, Mom." She gave her mother a smile, then noticed that the soup was beginning to boil over. "Mom! The miso!"

In a small and somewhat sparsely furnished apartment near the high school, Ranma was getting settled in. He didn't need much, just a simple place to rest and meditate. He could practice his katas at school, both unarmed and armed with bokken or shinmai, either before or after classes. He placed what few possessions he had accumulated in his brief travels on a shelf, a few scrolls he received as payment from various priests and senseis for hard work, and one surprising item from his past life: a hologram of a woman he'd know as an ambassador to the Republic from a small interstellar empire outside the known (Star Wars) galaxy. The hologram showed her wearing a short, if almost indecently short, black skirt which showed off a healthy amount of tanned flesh, while holding a key-shaped staff. The subject of the hologram had her long emerald hair pulled into a ponytail that came over the shoulder opposite the key. Ranma gazed longingly at the hologram. She was one of the few relationships that his past life had that stayed semi-permanent. And in a strange way the amalgam of Ranma and Tarquin felt the same feelings for the emerald haired woman in the hologram that Tarquin felt all those millennia ago.

The Jedi pulled his thoughts away from the past. He'd spent the past three months sorting out just whose memories he'd had. Ranma could easily remember things like attending balls on Coruscant, before the dark times, with his mystery girl as easily as being thrown into a pit of cats, repeatedly. More than once, he'd shuddered at those memories and spent hours in healing trances just trying to purge that psychological trauma from him. Fear was a link to the Dark Side, and if he couldn't control himself around cats, all his enemies would have to do is lock him in a room or a box with any kind of feline. His mental healings were working, after a fashion. He was no longer consciously afraid of cats, but would still feel nervous around them. By Ranma's count, he still had several more treatments before he could positively say he was healed of it.

Throwing the windows open, Ranma let the sounds and smells of the world of his birth, yet a planet alien to him, into his apartment before crawling on to his futon, and pulling the thin cover up under his chin.

oooooooooooo

Setsuna looked up from her reading. All of a sudden, Caesar's commentaries on his Gallic campaigns, in the original Latin, do longer seemed to be that interesting, even though she'd been a lover of his, and this was, for her, a way of keeping that contact. To the Senshi of Time, it felt as though a ghost from her past returned from the grave and was looking over her shoulder. Setsuna'd set into motion a number of things—such as Nodoka's divorce from her husband—that she wasn't monitoring. She even had to remind her other analogs to leave well enough alone, that Crystal Tokyo shouldn't be the perfect Utopia an idealist like Usagi wanted. She wanted to see if Chaos would prevent the future she'd observed.

Setting the ancient Latin text down reverently, she teleported to the Gates of Time, and quickly scanned the time stream for the past three months. What it showed her was true Chaos in action. Ranma was no longer with his father, unlike in all the other time streams she'd observed. For that, she breathed a sigh of relief, even if it meant that he didn't have those insanely powerful techniques. Ranma was calling himself "Ranma Lim" and had a job and apartment in Juuban. At a mental command, the donut-shaped monolith focused on his apartment, and the Senshi of Time sucked in a deep breath at what she saw. Sitting on the nightstand was a hologram…of herself in her senshi uniform. "Goddess, he didn't. He couldn't have. Tarquin would never have known where Earth was. His home galaxy was on the other side of the universe."

"**_And yet, Guardian Pluto, he found his way here_**," the monolith remarked. "**_It seems that this 'Force' of his allowed him to come here, although Fate played a dirty trick on him three millennia ago. Perhaps he came here looking for you._**"

Setsuna sat down in the chair in front of the gate. "It is possible. I remember looking up in the night sky over Memphis, and seeing a fiery streak across the heavens the night Tutankhamen died." She looked at her old lover sleeping peacefully in the center of the monolith. Tears came unbidden to her eyes, as she let her emotions run wild—something she'd never do in front of the Senshi. "I've lived so many lives since the fall of the Silver Millennium, that even I don't remember how old I am," she said to the Gates. "And some of the best times I had since the fall were on Coruscant, with him." She gestured towards the sleeping Ranma. "And the irony of it all was that the Republic accepted my credentials as an ambassador of the Millennium, and who I was. That was the only time since our initial defeat by Beryl and Metallia that I didn't have to hide as 'Setsuna Meiou'."

"**_Then seek him out, Guardian Pluto_**," the Gate quipped. "**_He will be potent ally in the coming times._**" Without being commanded, the opening showed Setsuna the devastation wreaked on Tokyo as Imperial troopers, fighters, shuttles, and armored assault vehicles rained destruction on Japan's and Earth's militaries and superheroes. "**_Or he can be a formidable opponent, should he turn, or be turned, to the Dark Side._**"

"Ok, ok, I'll go," she muttered. _Just not right away. Just my luck I got stuck with a pushy artifact._

oooooooooooo

Monday morning arrived at Juuban High like any other Monday. The students and faculty walking into the school, the usual morning gossiping among the girls in the various classes and grades, a blonde klutz still sleeping in her warm bed, while her cat tries to wake her up. And into this blend of overachievers and slackers, geeks and sports stars, nerds and divas walked Ranma Lim on his first day of school. The Jedi walked into the main office and began retrieving the papers he'd need to continue to draw a salary ((side comment: Abbot: "Did you ever draw a nice big salary before?" Costello: "No, but I once sketched a skinny tomato. Yoo hoo!")) along with the usual memos and in house fliers. As he turned to leave, he was intercepted by the superintendent. "Lim-san, good morning."

"Good morning, sir," he replied.

"Lim-san, I'm really surprised that you took this job. With your skills and record you could have gotten into one of the more prestigious private schools like St. Herbereke's."

"Be that as it may, sir, I like this particular atmosphere. It reminds me of when I was in school," Lim replied. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to prepare for my first class."

"Of course, of course." The superintendent made room for his newest gym teacher to pass. Ranma was thinking about what his first class was going to be when, and therefore not paying attention, when his ability to sense the Force left him, and he collided with something…soft. Fate, at that moment, was laughing at the Jedi, and decided to add to her amusement. One of them dropped their bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water on the floor. The subsequent dampness on the floor made one person's heels go out from under her, causing the other to become off balance.

With two lifetimes of martial arts skills, Ranma quickly wrapped the other person in his arms, and rolled as they fell to the floor, so that he would bear the brunt of the impact. He winced slightly as his back came into contact with the shards of broken glass bottle on the floor. "Are you alright," he asked, as he accidentally looked down her blouse, at the nicely tanned cleavage. He screwed his eyes shut.

"I'm fine," she replied. The voice reminded part of him of someone he'd known millennia ago. She regarded the outfit that he was wearing. It was the last thing she remembered seeing her lover in.

He let go of her, and as she got up, he glimpsed at the woman he'd hit. The long emerald green hair and eyes red to the point of crimson reminded him of her. Her voice brought back a memory of long ago, when he advised her to flee Coruscant and the Republic, as the Dark Times befell the Jedi. "Forgive me," he said. "I was being clumsy, and not paying attention."

"No, it's entirely my fault." She noticed the drops of blood on the floor from the cuts on his back. "You're bleeding. Allow me to take you to the nurse's office."

"That's quite alright…"

"Meiou, Setsuna Meiou, guidance counselor."

"Lim, Ranma Lim, physical education," he replied, bowing. Setsuna returned the bow. "I've trained my body to heal faster than normal. All I need is some time, and I'll be right as rain."

"Well, then, Lim-san. I'm pleased to meet you," Setsuna said.

"As am I, Meiou-san. Please, feel free to stop by the gym if you'd ever like to talk," Ranma replied.

"I thank you for your offer. Good day, Lim-san," she replied quickly, before leaving, as the late bell rang. To the other faculty in the office, it was almost too quickly for the normally stoic guidance counselor. As she entered her office, she sat down heavily in her chair, her breathing rapid and ragged. _Goddess_, she thought, _it is him. I haven't felt this way about anyone since I first met him when the Jedi Council assigned him to me as my bodyguard. Not that I needed one, but those were Council policies, and you didn't go against Yoda or Mace Windu._

Ranma really didn't have the luxury of dwelling on his thoughts. As soon as he walked into his office, and placed his mail on his desk, his first class, comprised of freshmen, were already entering the locker rooms. He didn't bother changing out of his robes, and walked into the gym, his soft boots barely making a sound on the wooden floor. The class, as they filtered back in, were in groups, chatting away like most high school students. Their attention was drawn to Ranma as he began his class in a most unusual way: by beginning a lightsaber drill with a bokken. The students stopped what they were doing, and began watching the Jedi go through his routine.

When he felt that he'd gotten most of the class's attention, he stepped it up a notch, by incorporating an advanced Anything Goes kata with advanced lightsaber drills. With the appropriate amount of "Oohs" and "Aahs" reached, Ranma stopped, and bowed to the class. "Good morning. I will be your instructor for this semester. My name is Ranma Lim, and I expect you to call me 'Sensei'.

"A little background about myself; I am the only practitioner and master of Musabetsu Kakutou Lim-ryu. The school is, as you have just seen, is a combination of armed and unarmed fighting techniques. As the school has a martial arts club, without a sensei, I will be taking that position over, and anyone interested meet at my office, just outside the gym, after classes." He looked at his watch. "I expect everyone to complete a 5 kilometer run within the next forty five minutes. You have two minutes to warm up. Begin!"

oooooooooooo

Chuckling, Ranma sat in his office, working on his lesson plans. He'd done the same thing for all his classes that day, and overheard all his students calling him evil, and all other sorts of names. It was his first day at the Jedi Academy, and Ranma recalled calling his own master the same thing. As much as he wanted to work on a pure martial arts/Force-related plan, he simply had to incorporate as many traditional physical education courses. He looked up when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called.

"Good afternoon, Lim-san," Setsuna said. "May I sit down?"

"Of course," Ranma said, motioning for her to take the chair in front of his desk. He closed his lesson plan book, and looked at the emerald haired guidance counselor. She looked as she did when she arrived on Coruscant. "What can I do for you, Meiou-san?"

"You made an offer to chat; I'm taking you up on that offer." Setsuna leaned closer to him. "'Ranma Lim' is not exactly a common Japanese name, Ranma."

Ranma smiled. "My parents were not the typical Japanese parents, Setsuna. They had a more modern outlook on life and parenting. Thus, I was spared the trouble of an arranged marriage, which allowed me to focus on my abilities as a teacher and martial artist, without being tied to hearth and home until I find the right woman for me." It was a plausible explanation, without truly deceiving her. Although, throughout Japan, girls began sneezing for no plausible reason.

"You remind me of someone I knew long ago. He had the same beliefs as you, especially when it came to marriage and relationships," she quipped.

"I have nothing against the practice of pledging oneself to another in matrimony, as it tends to bring harmony to the universe. However, I would choose to wed when I am ready to, to the one person, for example, someone like you, Setsuna, that I am comfortable with. But not before that time, and certainly not to someone chosen by my parents."

"That's pretty much what Tarquin…" Her voice trailed off, when she saw the look on Ranma's face. "You are Tarquin Lim, yes?"

"I am. Or rather I was. Setsuna, I last saw you ten years ago, after Palpatine was rescued from Grievous' flagship during the siege of Coruscant. Before the Dark Times befell the Republic."

"Tarquin…or do you prefer Ranma?"

"Ranma will do."

"Ranma, that was over thirty thousand years ago," Setsuna said.

"Surely, you're not serious!"

"I am serious, Ranma. You know I am the Senshi of Time and eternal. What happened after I left Coruscant?" Setsuna smiled, as she added at the end "And don't call me 'Shirley'."

Ranma smiled, but, as he began recounting the fall of the Knights and the Republic, his countenance grew grim. He related how Anakin Skywalker had been seduced by the Dark Side, how the Jedi were slaughtered by their own clone troopers if they weren't quick enough. Tears came to his eyes when he talked about the death of the Younglings, and the desecration of the Jedi Temple. Setsuna walked around the desk, and hugged her former lover.

Ranma, finding his center restored by the simple act of Setsuna's hug, moved her chair around to his side of the desk with a simple application of the Force. He took a deep, cleansing breath before continuing. He began telling her of how the surviving Jedi were scattered, hunted down by the Emperor's Jedi hunters to extinction. He told her of his own experiences, fleeing from an Imperial fleet in a Corellian light freighter. As he explained it, his hyperdrive had torn a hole in the space-time continuum, throwing him into this star system, his ship damaged beyond repair by traveling through the wormhole, and hurtling towards the third planet of the system.

"It was a night, three thousand years ago, that I remember being in ancient Egypt, the night one of the youngest Pharaohs in history died. I looked up, and saw a flaming meteor hurtling through the skies."

"That would have been my ship, as I tried to control my entry and slow down so that I wouldn't burn up in the atmosphere. I will say this for Corellian Engineering, their light freighters are rugged little ships. As I was speeding through the atmosphere without any engines, I managed to abandon ship and eject near what is now Jusenkyo." Setsuna shuddered at the mention of the valley. Magic from the Silver Millennium, corrupted by Beryl and Metallia long after the fall of the Moon Kingdom, created the springs as a source of youma. "Exhausted by my ordeals, and dehydrated by the extreme heat I felt in the ship, I set my things on the side of one of the pools, and leaned forward to take a drink. Next thing I know, the bank crumbles, and I'm in the pool. My last conscious thought, before waking in the body of Ranma Saotome, was the feeling of hands clawing at me, holding me down, and forcing my mouth open."

"Enemies of the Moon Kingdom, recently defeated, were the cause for the valley's curse," Setsuna explained. "What brought you to Japan after your awakening?"

"A tremor in the Force. As I was trekking across China, it was as though my absence in Juuban would bring a great catastrophe to this, the world of my rebirth."

"I see. As you may have guessed, Queen Serenity is dead, her daughter and her guardians sent forward in time."

"Then I should call upon Her Majesty, as an ambassador of the Old Republic."

"I wouldn't do that right now. The Senshi are, at best, an urban legend right now, dedicated protectors of," she chuckled at she continued, "love and justice. And it wouldn't do for an outsider to know their civilian identities."

"I see," Ranma said. "And yet, I know yours, Setsuna."

The Senshi of Time pursed her lips. "That's true. However, you knew me thirty millennia ago, and would have noticed my Force signature. After this morning's little accident, I decided that it would be better to tell you who I am." Setsuna smiled at the reborn Jedi. "And besides, I'd like to get reacquainted with my reborn Jedi bodyguard."

"As would I. And if the Senshi need my assistance against any enemy, my lightsaber is still as bright here, as it was on Coruscant."

"I shall let the Senshi know. Dinner tonight?"

"I would like that. Instant ramen gets boring after awhile."

"I have a meeting that shouldn't take long. I'll meet you here, say seven?"

"It's a date then," Ranma replied.

oooooooooooo

On the outer edge of the Sol System, a wormhole opened. As it was, the Hubble Space Telescope was pointed in the wrong direction to observe this historical moment. After close to a generation, the Empire's scientists and researchers in the Maw were able to duplicate the event that led to Tarquin's escape, and create a stable wormhole. A needle-nosed spacecraft slipped through the event horizon, and sped through the unassuming planetary system towards the third planet.

Passing through US Space Command's KH-11 satellite network, the Russian Cosmos satellites, and the various other planetary intelligence agencies' reconnaissance satellites, the small spaceship retraced Tarquin's entry to Earth as best as possible. The ship slipped through China's sophisticated air defense network undetected, and touched down outside of Jusenkyo.

With a hissing of pressurized gas being released, the rear hatch lowered, and the lone occupant exited the craft. Swathed in the dark robes of her position, the pilot looked around. "So, my old friend," she purred, "you were here." She smelled the air, and grinned ferally, her tail swishing in anticipation behind her. Before the Guide could even approach the visitor, she turned and returned to her ship. Lifting off, she headed east into the gathering darkness, towards Japan, guided by the Force.


	3. Chapter 2

Hikawa Shrine  
5 pm

"Why are we here, anyway? Setsuna said that we've pretty much defeated our major enemies."

"I could use the time to study," Ami said, as the Senshi grabbed pillows to sit around the sacred fire.

"Ami, you don't need to study. Don't you have, like a three hundred IQ?" Makoto asked, for once not using metaphors.

"I do, but there's nothing wrong with studying for the college entrance exams."

"You're 14, Ami," Rei growled. "You don't need to get ready for those exams for another three or four years." The fire senshi saw Usagi reaching for her latest Slayers manga. "And don't you dare, meatball head!"

"Aw, but Rei, I haven't read this one yet," Usagi said, with big puppy dog eyes. "I'll give it back when I'm finished with it."

"They're at it again, love," Michiru cooed into her lover's ear, as they snuggled on multiple pillows.

"Why don't they at least admit that they like each other?" Haruka said, looking like the cat that ate the canary. "It might even make our nights more…interesting." Michiru blushed at what her lover was thinking, but was also giving it serious consideration.

"I've called you here because there's been a…hiccup in the time stream," Setsuna said, from a shadowed corner of the room. She walked out of the shadows, and settled down in front of the Senshi.

Ami looked at the emerald haired Senshi. "What do you mean 'a hiccup'?"

"What I mean is that there are literally millions of possibilities for the future in the time stream. Every major fight you've had and won, one possibility is burned away. Unfortunately, one tributary has taken over, and literally become the current time stream. I won't go on any further, unless you hold multiple degrees in high level, and currently theoretical physics." She stood from her cushion. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to."

Haruka eyeballed her housemate. "What kind of business, Setsuna?"

"The kind that is none of your business to know, Haruka." With that, the Senshi of Time walked into the shadows and disappeared.

"Well, that was rather cryptic of her. I wonder what this new threat is." The rest of the Senshi merely shrugged their shoulders.

oooooooooooo

Ranma was waiting outside the school, sitting on a ledge. When Tarquin was a Padawan, patience was literally beat into him by his Master, but even as the amalgam of Jedi and martial artist, patience was still something he needed to learn again. He was mentally going through several Anything Goes katas while he waited for his date. Setsuna arrived after he started his fiftieth kata. "I was wondering if you were going to remember," he said.

"I had to get ready," she replied. If the Senshi were there to see what Setsuna was wearing, having been indoctrinated to her business suits or sailor fuku, they might wonder who this woman was with the green hair and crimson eyes. Even Ranma had to do a double take at first, because Tarquin's memories told the pigtailed Jedi that Setsuna rarely wore anything other than formal attire or her uniform. For their date, Setsuna was wearing a simple red halter top dress that ended just above her knees, with a matching shawl wrapped around her shoulders. And revealed plenty of perfectly tanned skin.

"I think this is the first time I've seen you in normal clothes, Setsuna. You always seem to make everything into a uniform of some sort."

"I seem to recall that you've seen me out of uniform plenty of times," the Senshi of Time teased, and was rewarded by Ranma blushing. She placed her hand against his cheek. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm taking advantage of you."

Ranma smiled at the emerald haired Senshi. "There's no need to apologize, Setsuna. My fat fool of a father kept me totally ignorant of everything about the opposite sex. I have Tarquin's memories on that to keep me honest." He offered his arm to his date. Setsuna accepted. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, let's." They left the school grounds, guided by Setsuna towards their restaurant.

The restaurant Setsuna had chosen was a small, intimate Italian place that had just opened, and the reviews were outstanding. Even the local Yakuza took a lesson from _The Godfather_, and began using it for business dealings, treating it as neutral ground. The owner, a former member of Gambino family, who was so deep in Witness Protection that the FBI lost him, took pride in that fact. The tables were far enough apart to discourage overhearing conversation, and the candlelit dining room provided enough light to see your dining companion and dinner, but not reveal who was at the table to someone looking in from outside.

As they were seated, and menus placed in front of them, Ranma looked at his date for the evening. The candlelight silhouetted Setsuna, highlighting her features. "Setsuna, do you know why I went behind the back of the Council?"

"In what way, Ranma?"

"With our relationship and the other relationships I had before you." Setsuna motioned for him to continue, after they ordered and the wine was poured. "The Council felt that love was one of those emotions that that led to the Dark Side. I'm sure they had ample reasons. But that was the new code of the Jedi. My Master followed the old code, where Jedi were allowed to have a lover, as his master had taught him, as had his master before him. He told me that a Jedi with a wife or husband was more stable, and less prone to the temptations of the Dark Side. In battle, the married Jedi knew what he was fighting for—the defense and protection of his loved ones—and was more in tune with the Force.

"According to legends, a Jedi family only grew stronger in the Force. But, at the same time, a Jedi remained humble, and didn't use his family line to secure a position on the Council, as there were no hereditary Council seats. Council seats have been always awarded by merit. Except in Anakin's case." Ranma paused as the salads were brought out, and wine glasses were refilled.

"I remember the scandal it caused when Palpatine had the council elevate Skywalker to an honorary position," Setsuna said, after taking a sip of her wine.

"Even among the Jedi, we had cause to be wary. Young Skywalker had the ear of the Chancellor," Ranma refused to call him "Emperor", "and the opposite was true as well. I firmly believe that if Palpatine hadn't such an interest in Skywalker, or we were able to rescue his mother from the Tusken Raiders, he wouldn't have fallen as quickly into Darkness." Ranma took a sip of his Chianti. "It doesn't pay to dwell on the past."

Setsuna smiled. "I have no choice in dwelling in the past. Or dwelling in the future, for that matter. I am who I am."

"I know. And I loved you for that back on Coruscant." The salad plates were cleared away, and dinner arrived.

Conversation was light as Setsuna brought her old flame up to date with her life. She set her fork down. "Ranma," she said, "you realize you still have family here in Juuban."

Ranma's fork paused halfway to his mouth. He set it back down, the piece of lasagna forgotten. It was his younger, martial artist persona that answered. "Pops told me my sister and mother died during a Godzilla attack."

Setsuna arched a delicate green eyebrow at that. She always felt the Vulcan Eyebrow Raise was an effective means of conveying surprise or interest without actually showing any other emotion. "Your father lied to you, Ranma," she replied. "Your mother divorced your father, and moved you, your sister, and herself back to her family's register."

"You mean my family is still alive?"

Setsuna nodded. "And your little sister is one of your students," she said with a smirk.

"I was four when Oyaji and I left. Mako-chan was two. And that would make her…"

"A freshman in Juuban High, Ranma," Setsuna finished for him.

"Oh wow. My sister is still alive. When I find that fat fool, Genma'll…no. Revenge is a seduction of the Dark Side. I made my decision when I left that baka panda at Jusenkyo and changed my name. And I will stick by that decision. But may he never cross my path again."

oooooooooooo

Ranma sat in his apartment, meditating. Both he and Setsuna were willing to wait before bringing their relationship back up to where it had been on Coruscant. So he left her at her house with such a romantic kiss that prompted the other older Outers to interrogate the Senshi of Time about her date. He meditated on how he was going to teach the regular regimen of physical education activities, and the fact that his little sister was a student of his.

As his meditations cleared his chaotic thoughts, he was granted a Force-vision of such startling clarity, that it had to be true. Even though Master Yoda taught that the future was always in motion, the clarity of this vision showed the reborn Master that this future was virtually set in stone. A form swathed in robes was meeting with an undistinguished kendoist, in a suburban western ward of Tokyo. The form was telling the martial artist of a way that he could win his fierce tigress and beautiful, but frequently lost, redheaded goddess. The martial artist was in the act of pledging himself to the robe-covered form when the vision clouded up.

"Bastet," Ranma muttered. "I should have realized that _she_ would follow me here. After all, she found me on Chel Nasin. I should have defeated her there, _permanently_. And I'm sure there's an Imperial fleet waiting for the order to attack. And this planet's defenses are nowhere near capable of defeating such an enemy."

Setsuna was watching her lover meditate through the Gates, when she heard him talking to himself. "Chel Nasin," she asked. Ever since she fled Coruscant, she had stopped watching Tarquin, knowing in her heart that she could never be with him again. Foolish girl.

"**_A Class M-type planet, located in the Outer Rim territories. The surface of the planet was reduced to ash and molten rock by the Imperial 33rd Battle Fleet. The firepower of the fleet was such that the crust was fractured, and turned a once fertile planet into a ball of molten rock. The destruction of the planet was done at the command of Grand Moff Tarkin, the sector governor, as an example of what happens to a planet that defies the Emperor and the New Order. Grand Moff Tarkin will eventually take command of a battlestation capable of destroying a planet in one shot._**" The monolith showed the planet, prior to its destruction, then the attack on the planet, and finally the aftermath of the attack, one of the few examples of the implementation of the Imperial Navy's Base Delta Zero code. The once vibrant and lush planet was turned into a molten wasteland.

"That is what we're trying to prevent here," Setsuna said quietly. "By the Goddess, I will prevent Earth's fate at the hands of the Empire."

Without prompting, the sentient monolith showed the future she was trying to prevent, again. "**_Pluto, this future will come to pass, so long as the Senshi are…lucky in their fights._**" Setsuna noted both the pause as well as sarcasm in her artifact's mental voice. "**_Have Tarquin, or Ranma as he is calling himself now, train the Senshi and Serenity's penguin-suited boytoy. Even if they do not have the potential to be Jedi, the training regimen that he will put them through will make them better fighters. He will teach them how to be warriors, not just little girls playing superhero. That will prevent this future from happening. Especially since magic _will not_ work against this enemy, Guardian Pluto, as it has in the past._**"

The Senshi of Time sighed, and sipped from her mug of tea. "I would like to see the future, should Ranma and the Senshi win." The gate complied, and showed what would have been Crystal Tokyo in any normal timeline. Six of the eight Senshi were seated at a round table, wearing robes in their planet's color, instead of their normal sailor fuku. Serenity and Endymion were seated together. Standing off to the side of the throne room was Ranma, an insufferable smirk on his face. Next to him was the eighth Senshi, her robes almost as black as a Sith Lord's, and another cloaked figure, with their hood up. There was something about the figure that screamed female, but there were no other discernable clues. "How did Ranma get into the future? And who is that other figure?" The image changed to a hangar in the Palace, where seven starfighters, each one matching their pilot's robes, with the exception of one that looked like it was painted in Southeast Asia four-tone camouflage, although the penguin painted on the nose indicated to whom it belonged to. Sitting in the background looked like a tramp freighter from some science fiction movie.

The image of the future was replaced by an anime character; Xellos to be exact. "**_That, my dear Setsuna…is a secret!_**" The Gate chuckled as Setsuna landed on her face.

"You have way too much time on your hands," she growled, teleporting back to Earth, leaving the Gate laughing.

oooooooooooo

At the Hikawa Shrine, Rei was jolted awake by feelings of intense hatred and darkness. There were times she hated being both the Senshi of Mars and a shrine maiden because of her empathy, since she could be jolted awake by even a heated argument in front of the Shrine. And that could explain why she was always fighting with Usagi, since a lack of sleep tended to make her grumpy. She looked out her window and saw a cloaked form walk by the Shrine. As the shaped passed under the street light, Rei had to do a double take. She could have sworn she saw a cat's tail hanging under the hem of the cloak. "I really need to stop eating those pepperoni and anchovy pizzas before I go to bed," she muttered, as she tried to get back to sleep.

Ranma was leaning front of a closed shop, the hilt of his lightsaber in hand, although turned off. He looked down the road, and saw the shape coming closer. "Hello, Bastet," he said, when she got within earshot.

"Tarrquin," she growled. Normally, the Catian could keep from rolling her r's. But this was not a normal circumstance.

"Bastet," the Jedi said amicably, "I haven't seen you since Chel Nasin."

"The rresidents of the planet paid forr yourr arrogance Tarrquin with theirr lives. Moff Tarrkin orrdered Base Delta Zerro. Admirral Acherron was morre than happy to destrroy the planet."

"You always were an impatient one, Bast-chan. When you found me, I told you that the Emperor will fall. Why do you insist on supporting such a foolish old man, who's wrapped up in his deceit and lies?"

"Because he brought order to the Republic, Lim." Bastet had begun calming down again, since she was no longer rolling her r's. The Sith Lord, a fallen Jedi in her own right, had been dangerous sparring against, as she was very unpredictable, as most cats are.

"He brought only a veneer of order over a regime based on evil. The Base Delta Zero code is just one example of Palpatine's evil. Destroying a whole planet in retaliation for harboring a Jedi? That is an absurd notion, my former Padawan. Had I not taught you anything about honor, duty and loyalty?" The blue light from Ranma's lightsaber chased away the shadows around the Jedi, as he held it in a _chūdan-no-kamae_ stance. He took a deep, calming breath, and held faith that the Force would hold the Neko-ken away during this duel.

"I have my loyalty to the Emperor, Tarquin," the Sith catgirl countered. "I have a duty to the Empire." Her lightsaber ignited, a crimson blade of death reflecting in her slitted eyes. "_I lost my honor the night you slept with me_! Die, bastard," she hissed (AN: Perhaps our noble Jedi isn't so noble after all, ne?). Bastet charged, swinging low, as if to castrate the reborn Jedi. Ranma blocked, and launched his own counterattack. Bastet countered, and kicked her opponent, aiming for a tender piece of anatomy, when their blades locked in a _tsubazeriai_, hissing and squealing.

As the fighters disengaged, the fight began to resemble a kendoka facing off a western fencer, as different forms from various schools were being used. Yagyu Shinkage-ryu faced MacPherson; Ryujoji Shinkage-ryu countered Bonetti; Iaido met Flynn; Kenobi met Skywalker. Coronal flashes filled the sleepy street as azure blade clashed against crimson. Mailbox met lightsaber, and lost. Lightsaber defeated Kawasaki. Neither combatant was truly capable of defeating the other, even when adding Force-thrown objects into the fight, as both Jedi and Sith had been taught by Yoda when they were Younglings.

Bastet realized that she was deadlocked against her former master, when a portion of her cloak's overhanging sleeve separated from the rest of it. Jumping back, she pulled a canister out of an inner pocket, and with a bit of the Force, pulled the pin. She threw it towards Ranma, as the spoon flew off. Within seconds, a cloud of smoke began billowing out, as Bastet deactivated her blade, and exercised the better part of valor.

Ranma, for his sake, was caught unawares by her actions, and suffered the effects of CS gas, as his eyes began to get puffy and run, and his lungs gave him coughing fits as they tried to expel the riot control agent. He deactivated his saber and returned to his apartment, to at least try and get the stink off of him and out of his robes.


	4. Chapter 3

At the edge of Imperial space, Admiral Criofan paced the command deck of his flagship, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer _Retribution_. His fleet, the 33rd Battle Fleet, the Scourge of Chel Nasin, sat arrayed around him, TIE fighters screaming through space, providing starfighter defense. His flag lieutenant stood near the flag communications console; hovering was more like it, waiting for the message from Bastet that she'd found her target, and eliminated him.

Criofan was of the new generation of flag officers, with a distinct distrust for all things Jedi. Even acknowledging the Emperor's pet Sith lords caused him to grit his teeth. The only Sith that actually managed to earn Criofan's respect was Vader; but then all Fleet personnel help a begrudging respect for him. There were rumors told in dark corners of Fleet recreational facilities about members of Vader's naval staff that managed to piss him off being asphyxiated without the Dark Lord touching them.

The coded message arrived, and the flag lieutenant saw to its decoding. "Sir," he said, "message from Bastet."

Criofan stopped his pacing and walked over to the communications console. "Leave us," he ordered the comm tech. The tech stood and left, headed for alcove just behind the bridge, for a cup of caf. Criofan had his own mercurial temper, and was wont to space inefficient or inquisitive crewmembers. The Admiral read the message, and smirked. "So, Bastet has found her target, but not yet eliminated him. Such inefficiency. Perhaps it's time we motivated her, hm?

"Lieutenant, when the communications tech returns, encode the following message: 'Received your report. Will be standing by; if target not eliminated within the next 72 Standard hours, the fleet will be deployed. Acknowledge when received and mission accomplished.'" Criofan strode back towards his command chair.

"Yes sir."

00000

Setsuna found Ranma in the gym, after school, going through drill after drill. Some of the drills the Senshi of Time recognized, others she didn't. She sat on the bleachers, watching the Jedi Master at his task, as he moved seamlessly from an armed kata to unarmed and back again. As he began his cool down exercises, Setsuna applauded. "Ranma, what happened last night? The only times I've seen you practice this hard was when you had something on your mind."

The reborn Jedi Master looked at his flame from the past, as he took a drink of water. "What do you remember of your time on Coruscant?" He asked, knowing full well the answer.

"I remember all of it. I recall following you to the Jedi Temple on numerous occasions as Master Yoda or Master Windu called you to task about past relationships that seemed to explode in your face." There was a smile on the Senshi of Time's face as she said it. "I also recall your Padawan; a female Catian…Bastet was her name?"

"I see your memory is as excellent as it has always been. Yes, she was my Padawan, and it seems I did something totally out of character, even for me."

"Do I want to know," Setsuna asked.

"If I didn't tell you, you'd probably use the Gates to look into my past." Ranma sat down next to his emerald haired love. He took a deep breath and let the Force guide him on what he was about to say. "My family, Tarquin's family that is, was strong in the Force, with each generation getting stronger. Do you know why that is?"

Setsuna shook her head. "No, but I assume it has something to do with the Old Code."

"Insightful as ever, Suna-chan," Ranma replied. "It does. My ancestors would take on a Padawan of the opposite sex, train them, and with other members of my family who were Padawans were of age and strength, arrange their marriage for them. That is how the Lim family not only grew in strength but could be a force to be reckoned with if we, as a family, turned to the Dark Side. But the Council also recognized our potential as combat leaders and diplomats, because we incorporated such talented Jedi and their skills in our families. Similar to what Musabetsu Kakutou Ryu does with martial arts."

Ranma ran a hand through his dark hair. "It was before the Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo, and your arrival on Coruscant, when it happened. Bastet and I were assigned to Ord Paladrin to resolve a diplomatic dispute between two planets in the system. We resolved the dispute, it was something petty like trade tariffs between the two planets. Well, during the post-treaty reception," Ranma sighed, "Bastet and I…kind of found romance in each other's arms, when we had left the reception and returned to our quarters." Setsuna raised a delicate green eyebrow at his confession. "We kept quiet about what had happened between us when we returned to Coruscant. It was only after I returned from visiting my family on Dantooine, had I learned that Bastet had been disowned by her family for what we did.

"The Council called me to the carpet, and chewed me out for what happened. They stripped me of my rights to take on a Padawan and to mediate disputes, and let me languish as a diplomatic escort. Until you arrived, Setsuna, my life was dead, trapped in limbo; a limbo that I caused."

"Ranma," Setsuna said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "it wasn't your fault. Nor was it Bastet's fault for what happened between the two of you. You were, after all, two consenting adults."

"Yeah, I know. But the problem is that even though we were consenting adults, according to Republican law, Catia has a different set of standards. And in one moment of passion, we violated those laws, Bastet was cast out of her clan, and, in effect, thrust her towards the Dark Side." The pigtailed Jedi Master looked at his old flame and current coworker. "I want to help restore her to the Light, 'Suna. If I can do that, I'll have vindicated myself, even though there is no longer a Jedi Council."

Setsuna smiled. Tarquin had a martyr complex after his fall from grace with the Council, and it seemed to carry over to Ranma as well. "Ranma, before you do, why don't we reintroduce you to your family?"

"That, my dear, sounds like a good idea."

00000

In a different part of Tokyo, Nerima to be exact, Bastet was watching a potential pupil in his daily, if not hourly, fights. "My pigtailed goddess! You've come to me at last!"

Ryouga-onna looked at the samurai wannabe, then at Akane and shrugged. "Because of you, Kuno, I've seen Hell! DIE!" After Ranma left Genma at Jusenkyo, the panda had chased after his wayward son, knocking the Lost Boy into the Nyanniichuan, then convinced the amnesiac boy-turned-girl that he was his father.

"Very well, my pigtailed goddess, if you will, I shall consent to date with thee."

"Kuno, how many times do I have to tell you that I'll never date with you!"

Unfortunately for the Catian Sith Lord, she watched her pupil get pummeled into a bloody mess by Ryouga-onna's combat umbrella. She shook her head. "So much potential in both, but I think one will be easily persuaded to join my cause." She moved back into the shadows, and continued to watch.

"Let's go get you some hot water, Ranma," Akane said.

"You two go on ahead," Nabiki said. "I'll take care of Mr. Samurai-wannabe." Nabiki picked up her phone and dialed Emergency Services. She had to chuckle to herself, as she waited for the police and ambulance to show up. Akane and Ryouga seemed to actually get along, and there may even be hope for the two in the future.

Bastet arrived at Nerima General Hospital and Trauma Center as dusk gathered. She walked through the main entrance and scoffed to herself at the level of medical technology that this mud ball of a planet had. Even a backwater like Tatooine had significantly more advanced medical facilities than Earth. Proving that she'd been a student of the Lim School of Computer Hacking, she found where her potential pupil would be.

Slipping into the room proved to be no problem, and since the patient was from a relatively notable family, it was a private room. "Tatewaki Kuno," she asked the bundle of bandages lying on the bed.

"Mmmf," the bandages replied.

"I come to offer you my services," she asked. She did a quick Force scan, and noted that the bundle of bandages had a significant potential in the Force, and was already using a rudimentary form of the Dark Side.

"Mmmf?"

"I can instruct you in ways that will win you your 'pigtailed goddess'. I can teach you how to use your powers, Kuno-san. All you have to do is allow me to instruct you, and pledge yourself to my cause."

"Mmmf, mmmf, mmmf, mmmf!"

"Very good. I will meet you at Furinkan, two weeks from now. That should allow you sufficient time to heal yourself."

"Mmmf?"

"You may call me 'Mistress Bastet', my young apprentice." Bastet left the room, and quietly left the hospital.

"Mmmf. Mmmf."

"Kuno-san," the nurse said, as he walked in, "it's time for your enema."

"MMMF!"

00000

In front of a modest house, in a modest residential area not far from Juuban High, Ranma and Setsuna stood in front of the gate. Ranma was anxious, but not nervous. The last time he'd felt this way, as Tarquin, was before his test to move up to Master. Setsuna noted the pigtailed Jedi's anxiety as well. "Nervous, Ranma," she asked.

"Very. What if Mom doesn't like what I've become, or…"

Setsuna placed a finger on her lover's lips. "Relax, Ranma. You are the Republic's version of the samurai. And that right there will make you seem more than you are to your mother.

"Shall we?"

Hesitantly, Ranma reached out and pressed the doorbell. He began a relaxation technique while waiting, although he occasionally looked at the person that was his soulmate. The door opened, and Makoto opened the door. "Lim-sensei, Meiou-sensei," she said, startled that her gym teacher and guidance counselor (and the Senshi of Time) were here.

Setsuna took over. "Makoto-san, we'd like a word or two with your mother."

"Ah, sure, come on in," Makoto offered. "Mom! We have company." She led the two teachers into the living room.

Nodoka walked out of the kitchen, and stopped short when she saw the spitting image of her son…if he were at least ten years older. "R-Ranma?"

Ranma turned and faced his mother. "M-Mom?"

Nodoka rushed over and grabbed her son returned from the land of the missing into a bear hug. "Oh, my manly son has returned to me!"

Makoto sidled up to Setsuna. "What's this all about, Setsuna? And don't give me that 'You can't know for the future' line."

"Your gym teacher is your brother, Makoto," Setsuna replied, watching Ranma being spun around by his mother.

"Are you sure?"

"Think about it, Makoto. There are technically only three schools of Musabetsu Kakutou: the Happosai, Saotome and Tendo Ryus. On his first day your gym teacher announces a fourth: Lim Ryu."

"So…"

Setsuna smirked, in that annoying way of hers. "Search your feelings, Makoto. You know it to be true." All that was missing was the rasping mechanical breathing. Ok, so Setsuna was a closet _Star Wars_ otaku. After all, she'd lived on Coruscant, and wanted to know just how accurate Lucas made his "science fiction" hexology with what she knew. Hopefully, she thought, his predictions in the last episode were accurate.

Makoto closed her eyes for a moment, and reached out with what her mother had been teaching her to access as chi. Ranma felt the resonance and smiled. "Congratulations, imouto-chan. You've just taken your first step into a larger universe."

Both Nodoka and Makoto looked at Ranma. "What do you mean, Ranma," Nodoka asked, "by a 'larger universe'?"

"Mom, how much do you know about my training under Pops?"

Setsuna got this "I'm so cool, liquid nitrogen couldn't melt in my mouth" look, when Nodoka answered. "I know about the more abusive techniques and the multiple engagements. I ended the private investigation when I filed for divorce. Why?"

Ranma motioned for everyone to sit down, before he did so. "There is this valley in the Bayankala Mountains of China called Jusenkyo. There are well over a hundred springs, each with their own tragic tale. Some are permanent; others change when hit with the right water temperature. I fell into one of the older permanent springs, Spring of Drowned Warrior from the Stars. I believe I'm also the only one to fall into that spring, but that's not important right now.

"What is important, Mom, Mako-chan, is that I merged with the spirit that dwelled in that spring. He was a Jedi Master, and with guilt by association," Ranma smiled with that, "so am I."

Nodoka looked at her son, turned man. "What exactly is a 'Jedi Master'? And why haven't we heard about it before?"

"That, Mom, is a tale that spans thirty millennia. But before I begin with that, can I get something to drink?"

Makoto, recovering from her face fault, ran into the kitchen and grabbed the tea set. "Here ya go, Ranma," she said, handing him and the others a cup of tea.

"Thanks, sis," he said, taking a sip. "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…"

00000

AN: Stop here? Sure, why not.

There's been some question about my use of the wormhole as a temporal/time travel plot device, and here's my answer: Astrophysicists have "theoretically" proven that a wormhole, if stable, is only a positional creation, in that it allows near-instantaneous travel between one part of the universe to another. My contention is that until it can be proven otherwise, a wormhole makes for a great plot device in the temporal/time travel sense. Besides, right now, even the existence of actual wormholes is pure speculation and science fiction.


	5. Chapter 4

"Thanks, sis," he said, taking a sip. "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" Ranma said, beginning his tale, "there was a galaxy-spanning government, called the Republic, which incorporated all manner of sentient being. Oh yes, Mother, there is life out among the stars. Peace reigned, and had been defended by the Jedi Order for over a thousand generations. I, that is the Jedi Master who drowned in the spring, was once a member of the Jedi. I even had a Padawan learner, an apprentice if you will, a female Catian—a "catgirl" would be the best term for her, although not really…Yes Mako-chan?"

"Ranma," Makoto said, "you still haven't explained what a 'Jedi' is."

"A Jedi is a being that dedicates him/her/itself to mastery of the Force. The Force is what ties all living things together; it binds us and surrounds us. It calls to us, and responds to our calls. Even now, in this room, I can feel it between you, Mako-chan, and you Mother, and you Setsuna, and even the bonsai in the corner.

"A Jedi was also the defender of law and order. There are two sides to the Force, a light side and a dark side, very similar to duct tape in that they are inseparable and bind the universe together. The Dark Side preys on our baser nature—fear, anger, envy, even aggression, all lead to the Dark Side. A Jedi acts with control and restraint, always in the defense of innocents."

"So a Jedi would be akin to a samurai," Nodoka asked.

"Correct, with some seemingly supernatural powers," Ranma added, as he reached through the Force and called the teapot to his hand. "I am now more a martial artist than Genma ever strived for, thanks to my mastery in the Force." He smiled at his mother and sister, as he poured another cup of tea. It wasn't a boast, but mere fact that he was able to do things that were beyond the ken of most martial artists.

Makoto looked at her brother with awe. If he could train her in the Force in her normal form, just think of how much more of a potent Sailor Suited Defender of Love and Justice she could be with the Force as her ally. "Ranma, do you think you could train me as a Jedi," she asked with a small voice.

"Mako-chan, training to be a Jedi is a life-long task. Even as a Master, there were still techniques that Tarquin was learning."

"I want to try, Sensei," she replied.

Ranma smiled at her, even as he told her his favorite maxim from Master Yoda. "Do, or do not. There is no try. Are you willing for a difficult life ahead of you, knowing that there may be people that fear what you are able to do? Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for a higher cause? There was one thing that Genma taught me that was correct: 'The path of a martial artist is fraught with peril.' The Dark Side is seductive; are you willing to face your worst nightmares with calm and dignity?"

Makoto looked at her brother and smiled. _If he only knew,_ she thought. "I am, Ranma," she replied levelly.

"Then we'll begin in the morning. Before school," he said. "Setsuna, I'm sure there's something you want to discuss with my sister, right? I'll go take Mom out back and show her what I can do with a sword."

As Ranma and Nodoka walked into the garden, Setsuna looked at the Senshi of Jupiter. "Ranma knows who I am, Makoto," she said.

"WHAT! Did you tell him?"

Setsuna smiled. "No. He has his memories of Tarquin to reveal that to him…I was once Serenity's ambassador to the Republic." There was the unmistakable hum of a lightsaber, changing in pitch as Ranma went through various drills for his mother.

"And why didn't you think to hide it from him, Setsuna," Makoto asked of the older Senshi. Of all people to reveal who they were, Makoto would have thought that it would have been Usagi; but not Setsuna.

"Ranma would have figured it out eventually, anyway. The way Tarquin explained it to me, each of us has a unique signature in the Force which allows a Jedi to find a particular individual in a sea of people. My signature would have told him I was the same person I was back on Coruscant."

"If that's the case, then he'd be able to recognize who I am if I transformed, right?"

"Yes he would…" Setsuna was interrupted by a shout from outside. "MY SON IS SO MANLY!"

"I guess your mother found out about Tarquin's…sexual history," the Senshi of Time remarked dryly.

"What did you mean by 'Tarquin's sexual history'?"

Setsuna smirked. "Let's just say that I wasn't the first one Tarquin slept with. You can reveal who you are, Makoto. Both Tarquin and Ranma are honorable individuals."

Nodoka and Ranma walked back in, Ranma blushing profusely while his mother was grinning from ear to ear. "Setsuna-chan," the Kino matriarch said, "come join me in the den. There's much I'd like to discuss with you."

Pluto arched a delicate green eyebrow. "Certainly, Kino-san."

"Oh, there's no need for such formality. Please, call me 'Auntie Nodoka'," she said, leading the eldest Senshi out of the living room.

"Oh man, I feel sorry for Suna-chan," Ranma muttered.

"Ranma, Setsuna told me you've…been busy."

"Uh, Mako-chan, aren't you a little young for this?"

"Ranma, I've had _Human Sexuality_ in school. I think I'm ready to hear about my brother's exploits."

"No, you're not. What is supposed to be private is to remain private; even among Jedi. What I will do is tell you about is why Tarquin was so busy."

"Ok," Makoto said, settling down on the couch next to her brother.

"There were once two Jedi Codes, the New Code which allowed Jedi to love not a single person, but humanity in all its myriad shapes and forms; and an Old Code, which allowed Jedi to love a single person, as well as humanity. There was much debate into the emotion of love, whether or not it could be a conduit to the Dark Side. For with love there comes the opposite emotions of jealousy, anger and envy.

"The Lim family believed in the Old Code, for it allowed my family to grow stronger in the Force. There was only one Jedi who came close to our family's strength, and he was corrupted to the Dark Side. It was our family's practice to arrange unions between Padawans of similar strength, so that their ties to the Force would be stronger. Like Musabetsu Kakutou, we incorporated their abilities into our family's strengths—we were diplomats and troubleshooters, slicers and soldiers, educators and deep-cover agents.

"I had such an arranged marriage to my brother's Padawan. Unfortunately, she was an uncute tomboy whose deeply rooted distrust of males that had her skating perilously close to the Dark Side. Her cooking was so bad; it was known to have killed a Sarlaac, a creature that inhabits the planet Tatooine that takes millennia to digest its food, and is impervious to most toxins and bio-chem warfare weapons. To be honest, I don't know how my brother put up with her, especially when she accused him of being a pervert, even though she walked in on him taking a bath. But I digress, Mako-chan.

"My 'loving' fiancée didn't use a lightsaber; in fact she refused to use one. What she used was a Force-created mallet. I should know, as I was the victim of it many times when I was able to attend family affairs. She accused me of being a pervert and sleeping with my Padawan.

"My Padawan was a lovely Catian, as I said earlier, something along the lines of an anime "catgirl", named Bastet after an ancient deity on her planet. It was uncanny how well we connected with the Force between us; it was almost as if the Force became a living conduit between us. And had her people not have strict mating laws, I would have petitioned the head of my family to annul my arranged marriage and have Bastet marry into our family.

"To escape my fiancée, I was known as something of a womanizer to my fellow Jedi. It wasn't as though I was using the Force to seduce them; it's just that I happened to have a woman in every port. But I never slept with Bastet. Well, except for one time.

"We had been sent to a system called Ord Paladrin, to settle a diplomatic dispute that none of the other diplomats could fix, and was starting to go to a war footing. After the reception, Bastet and I gave into the temptation." Ranma ran his hand through his hair. "I guess there was something in the air, but we wound up in bed together."

Makoto looked at her brother. "You really are a pervert, Ranma," she said with a smile.

He just shrugged his shoulders. "I know, but after that incident, the Jedi Council censured me by stripping me of my ability to mediate disputes, to take on a Padawan, and assigning me as a diplomatic envoy."

"Oh," was all Makoto said. _And I guess that's when he met Pluto_, she thought.

"Your thoughts are betraying you, sister," Ranma said all knowingly. "There's a connection between you and Sailor Pluto."

"Wha…? You can read my mind?"

"No, I can pick up surface impressions. Setsuna, I'm sure, told you about our past together while I was with Mom."

"Um…"

"Makoto, you have my word as a Jedi that what you have to tell me will not be revealed."

"Oh boy, how do I do this?" Makoto quietly said to herself.

"Usually with what's bothering you, Mako-chan."

"Ranma, how much do you believe in magic?"

"Makoto, as Tarquin, I've seen planets where one man's science is another's religion and a third's magic. I'm a Jedi Master, able to manipulate a 'supernatural' force, as it were, which is magic to most people. Mako, you have that ability within you as well; it's strong enough that I can sense it. Setsuna has a variation as well, and had I not been censured by the Jedi Council, I would have taken her on as a learner, irregardless of how old she is, as well as a lover when I lost my Padawan."

"Ranma, how did you lose your Padawan," Makoto asked, stalling for time to come up with a reasonable explanation about her alter ego.

The pigtailed Jedi sighed, and sipped his tea. "When we returned to Coruscant after our mission, the Jedi Council granted us leave. I went home to my family's lands on Dantooine, Bastet went to Catia. When I returned a month later, Masters Yoda and Windu called me to task in front of the Jedi Council. Apparently when Bastet returned home, her family found out that she…" Ranma paused as he searched for the right phrase, "…was no longer pure. They demanded that she go in exile, and that the offender be punished. It seems that her family carried significant weight with the Senate, and the Council reluctantly acceded to their demands.

"So, what is this secret of yours, Mako-chan, that you are so nervous to show me?"

_Damn, I hoped he'd forgotten,_ the Senshi thought. She pulled out her henshin pen. "Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!" One naked twirly lightshow later… "Ranma, I'm Sailor Jupiter." Her brother declined to respond, and Makoto noticed why. She rubbed her finger under her nose.

Ranma caught the hint, and wiped the blood away. _Baka hentai. She's your sister for Kami-sama's sake. _"Makoto, you do realize that you're naked during the transformation?" She nodded, hesitantly, even as Ranma stood, and walked around his sister, a Sailor Suited Defender of Love and Justice. "And that uniform is a pedophile's wet dream come to life. You realize that as well, right?" Another hesitant nod. "You really need to find a better way to transform, Mako-chan. Although, I can see where it could be a useful distraction. But it wouldn't be one for very long." Granted, Ranma, or rather Tarquin, had seen Setsuna in and out of her Sailor fuku, and hadn't minded one bit…but then the Senshi of Pluto was a consenting adult, and not his teenage sister.

"So, other than the transformation and the uniform, you don't mind that I'm a Sailor Senshi?"

"Nope. You are attempting to do what I did as a Jedi, defend the innocent and uphold law and order. You'd better transform back, Mako. Mom and Setsuna are coming."

Nodoka and a much embarrassed Setsuna walked back into the living room. "Ranma, even though I find it hard to believe that you are two people right now instead of just my son, I give you my permission to continue to date Setsuna."

Ranma smirked. "Mother, I am now a grown adult, with a career as an educator. I think I have met your nebulous expectations about my being 'a man amongst men'."

"You're right, Ranma," Nodoka said. "It's just that I've got my little boy back and he's all grown up. Would you and Setsuna like to stay for dinner?"

If there was one constant between this Ranma and those in other, parallel dimensions, was the Saotome stomach. Just at the mere mention of food, it makes its presence known—rather loudly. Jedi Master Ranma Lim looked sheepishly as three women stared at him like eagles admiring a tasty tidbit, or scientists discovering a new microbe. "I guess that's a yes," Ranma replied.

00000

Aboard her Sith Infiltrator, Bastet was interrupted from her meditations by an insistent beeping. Moving with catlike grace out of her lotus position, she moved over to the communications panel and retrieved the message.

A thirty centimeter tall hologram of Criofan's flag lieutenant appeared on the projection pad. "_Greetings, Lady Bastet. I hope this message finds you in good health. Admiral Criofan has been appraised of your status and is most displeased by your performance. He would have thought it nigh impossible for a Sith Lord such as yourself to have not…terminated your objective._

"_If the Admiral has not received confirmation that Tarquin Lim has been eliminated within seventy-two hours, he will deploy the fleet through the wormhole and take care of the situation himself. The Admiral has also reviewed your technological assessment of this planet called 'Earth', and believes that their military will pose little threat to even the smallest of capital ships in the fleet. Admiral Criofan has received confirmation of Base Delta Zero from Grand Moff Tarkin to be implemented should you fail. Obviously, failure is not an option, Lady Bastet._

"_Confirmation of receipt of this message is ordered, as is confirmation of the elimination of the Target. Lieutenant Aubrey, out._"

"That bastarrrd," Bastet growled, her tail swishing back and forth in agitation. "The Emperrrorrr himself gave me this mission, and I have yet to complete it to my satisfaction. He may have died once, but this time, he'll die by my hand. I'll not have the satisfaction of this victorrry snatched frrrom my grrrasp." Bastet was an artist in her elimination of the Jedi, unlike those who turned to the Dark Side. Like a housecat with a mouse, she will toy with her target, play with them, tease them, always giving them hope of escape, and then pounced swiftly, ending their lives. Criofan preferred the use of turbolasers over a skillful vibroblade; a bludgeon when a scalpel was needed.

She hit the record button, as she calmed herself with a Jedi relaxation technique. She may be a Sith, but she was a Jedi first. "Message rrreceived. Howeverrr, I will rrrequirrre at least an additional month to rrrecrrruit and trrrain local allies to ourrr cause. With the elimination of Jedi Lim, it would help to have locals on ourrr side, to smooth integrrration into the Empirrre.

"I will rrremind Admirrral Criofan that it was the Emperrrorrr who assigned me to this mission, with the 33rd Fleet at my disposal, not the other way around. Bastet out." She sent the message out, and resumed her meditations.

00000

Later on that night, the Gates of Time looked in on its guardian. After scanning her house she shared with the other Outers, the sentient donut-shaped monolith chuckled to itself. "**_It seems my Guardian is up to no good._**" It scanned an apartment building a few blocks away from Juuban High School, to a small apartment. "**_Oh deary, dear._** **_I never knew Pluto could be so…flexible. Or energetic, for that matter._**" It recorded the scene for posterity's sake, as something that could be used if Setsuna denied where she was that night. The Time Portal activated long-dormant sensors to track its guardian's health. "**_Well now…this will be interesting to say the least._**" Scanning ahead in the timestream, if the Gates of Time could smirk, it would. "**_Twins. And they'll share their mother's immortality and their father's ability to use the Force. Looks like I'll have to intervene on their father's behalf._**" Continuing to chuckle to itself, the sentient monolith focused some of its energies on a certain pigtailed martial artist.


	6. Chapter 5

Ranma slowly awoke with a feeling of comfortable warmth along his right side and on his right arm. He cracked open his eyes and saw emerald locks of hair spilling across his chest, and lots of perfectly tanned flesh ending at the edge of the blanket. He could feel Setsuna's heart beating against his chest, the whispers of her breath across his chest as she slept. _Just as I remembered,_ he thought to himself. _It's a shame she had to bury herself in an "Ice Queen" persona when I told her to leave Coruscant. Setsuna's always been a passionate person._ He smiled as he remembered last night being as passionate as any they had on Coruscant. The Jedi could feel his houseguest beginning to stir. "Good morning, Suna-chan," he said with a smile.

Setsuna raised her head and looked at her host, which gave him a good view of more perfectly tanned flesh that had been resting against his body. "Good morning to you too, anata. What time is it?"

"Just after five," Ranma replied.

"I should get home. Haruka and Michiru are probably wondering where I've been all night. I swear, those two are worse than my mother ever was."

Ranma just chuckled and kissed the top of his lover's head. "You want to get cleaned up here, or when you get home?"

Setsuna got an evil twinkle in her eye. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine, anata."

"Pervert," Ranma said, with a grin.

"Ah, but who's the more perverted; the pervert or the pervert in bed with him?" Setsuna laughed, twisting around one of Obi-wan's favorite truisms.

00000

With a click, Setsuna closed the front door to the house she shared with Hotaru, Michiru and Haruka. As she turned to walk upstairs, she heard someone on the couch. "Haruka, have you been there all night," the Senshi of Pluto asked.

The blonde tomboy of Uranus cracked an eye open. "S-Setsuna? What are you doing home this late?"

"I was out on a date," she replied with all sincerity.

"Until 6 in the morning," the butch lover of Neptune asked, incredulously.

"No," Setsuna countered with a smirk, "only until five."

"So who is he?"

"A former lover I thought long dead. We felt we should renew our association with each other; after we had dinner with his mother and sister in this life." Setsuna turned from Haruka to walk up stairs.

"I thought all your lovers were dead," Haruka said.

That thoughtless comment stung the Senshi of Pluto in more ways than the fall of the House of Serenity, and the Silver Millennium. She bit back her urge to hurl a Dead Scream at her housemate, even as she spun on her heel and slapped the butch lesbian across the face. "You have always had your soulmate, Haruka, always. I watched mine push me into a starship, telling me to get off of Coruscant before the Sith could get me. I sealed myself behind the façade of mysteriousness and a mask of ice so that I'd never be hurt that way again. And now he's back from the grave, and I feel…human again."

Haruka was taken aback by all the emotion Setsuna was showing. The only thing she was this passionate about was the return of Crystal Tokyo, even to the point of ensuring that there were no threats to that future timeline. "Setsuna, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"There was no way you could have known. Tarquin and I were lovers after the fall of the Millennium. You were waiting to be reborn. And no, apology not accepted. At least not until you've felt the same emptiness that I have for millennia." Setsuna headed up the stairs, leaving a bewildered Uranus wondering what she meant by her last remarks.

At the same time, Ranma treated his sister to his father's usual morning wake up call—he threw her out her bedroom window. "Good morning, Makoto," he called cheerfully, as she landed in the koi pond. He followed her out the window, landing on the ground. As his sister swung angrily at him, Ranma ducked, dodged and deflected all her attempts at hitting him, all while smiling at her. "Remember, a Jedi fights in defense of others, and themselves. A Jedi is always at peace, never letting their baser emotions getting the best of them."

"So why don't you peacefully stand still so I can hit you, baka," Makoto growled. She was wet, she was tired, she was in her pajamas, and she had a koi in a place it shouldn't be.

"Because your enemy will never hold still so you can hit them. They'll always be either attacking or on the defensive, imouto-chan." Ranma sunk down into a lotus position on the grass, just in time to avoid his sister's roundhouse kick. With just a nudge of the Force, he overbalanced the leg Makoto was standing on, causing her to tumble to the ground. "Now, are you ready to learn?"

"Hai, sensei," she replied, as she assumed the same lotus position.

"Remember what I told you yesterday, that the Force is both our ally and our master?"

"Hai," now awake, Makoto took on some of her usual chipper self…after she reached into her pajama bottoms and removed the now dead fish. Ranma had, at least, the decency to look a way during that moment.

"Clear your mind of all distractions. Reach out with your feelings."

Makoto closed her eyes, as she listened to her brother. Almost immediately she felt it. It had that intangible feeling of ki to her, yet it wasn't ki. "I…my friends…they're in trouble. I can see them fighting white armored men, and losing…" Her connection to the Force was broken by the emotions running through her. "Ranma, what was that? Was that the future?"

Ranma made a shushing noise as he closed his eyes and focused on what his sister had told them. The strength of the Force vision was as strong as the one he had of Bastet talking to a potential apprentice from Nerima. "One of my teachers told me that the future is always in motion. This is one possible future."

"Then we have to help them!"

"This vision could take place in two days, two weeks, two months, two years, two decades, two centuries, or two millennia from now. And there is no certainty that this future could even come to pass." Ranma looked at the insistence in his sister's face. "Mako-chan," he said patiently, "to be a Jedi means more than fighting. It means sacrifices need to be made. I made my biggest sacrifice when I gave in to my passions and slept with my apprentice. It drove her to the Dark Side, as a means of revenge against me. If this vision means that are sacrifices for the greater good, then those sacrifices need to be made, imouto-chan.

"Now, go get cleaned up. Mom has breakfast waiting."

"More insight from the Force, big brother?"

Ranma sniffed. "Nope. Mom's finished cooking," he said with a smile. "Remember, as a martial artist, you live by your body. Your body lives by your stomach."

"Gotcha, big brother."

00000

Ranma seemed to be in a better mood this morning, as he walked into the office than yesterday. Of course, the night before, he'd been fought to a stand still by his former apprentice, and last night and this morning proved that Setsuna was still as flexible as she was on Coruscant. His sister had made a big step towards being a Jedi, and he was also teaching her to be a better martial artist at the same time. "Good morning, Meiou-san," he said, keeping it professional between Setsuna and himself.

"Lim-san, good morning," Setsuna replied, giving her lover the barest of smiles.

"Problems at home," he asked.

"No more than the usual nosy roommates."

"Ah, I see," he was saved by the late bell from revealing anything more to his coworkers.

With the fourth period gym class dismissed for lunch, Ranma sat down at his desk, and opened his food. In the ten years he was out on the road, he'd forgotten what his mother's cooking tasted like, and last night, it brought out those long dormant memories. There was a knock at the door, as he was bringing up the piece of teriyaki chicken to his mouth. "Come in," he called, as he placed the morsel in his mouth.

Setsuna walked in and, after closing the door, sat on her reborn lover's lap. "I almost did something this morning that I'd never done before." This close, Ranma could see the tracks of tears on her face, as faint as they were.

"What happened?"

"One of my housemates, Haruka Ten'ou, asked me where I was all night. I told her I was out with a former lover. She made a snide comment about all my lovers being dead, and I wanted to throw a Dead Scream at her. I was able to restrain myself, but it was bad enough that I slapped and yelled at her, instead."

Ranma kissed her gently. "It's ok, Setsuna. You've had the shock of your life this week. You've discovered that someone you thought long dead is alive, and a coworker. And they managed to break you out of your shell, and return you to the passionate person that you were."

"Goddess, you still know how to make a woman feel appreciated. Even if you aren't the Tarquin Lim I remember, you still have a piece of him inside of you."

"We became me at Jusenkyo, Suna-chan. The Ranma Saotome that fell into the spring would have frozen up right now, as his father always told him that women were weak, that they were a distraction from the Art. Tarquin did die, but when I fell into the spring, he was reborn, _I_ was reborn. I became a young man, a grown man, a Jedi Master, a martial artist, and a warrior. And I'm glad the Force led me here, because there's something I should have done back on Coruscant."

Setsuna raised a delicate green eyebrow at that. "Ooh, and what was that, Ranma?"

"Ask you to marry me."

"Oh scandalous!" She exclaimed in mock terror. "Just think what the gossip-mongers on the faculty will say when they here about this!"

"Well," Ranma said, smirking, "I thought I'd wait until dinner tonight to ask the question."

"How gallant of you, Ranma," Setsuna replied. She kissed her soon to be fiancé, as the bell rang and stood. "I'll see you this evening, ok?"

"May only an invasion by the Empire keep me from tonight," he replied earnestly. "_Il Vicollo_ good for tonight?'

"Of course, but be careful what you wish for, anata. Ja!" Setsuna left his office, with a new bounce in her step that had been missing from the morning.

00000

That night, as Ranma and Setsuna were walking down towards _Il Vicollo_, the cloaked form of Bastet emerged from a shadowed alley. "Grrreetings again, Tarrrquin," she growled. The anxiety on her was apparently tremendous, as she was heavily rolling her r's.

"Bastet," Ranma replied, calmly. "What can I do for you this fine evening?"

"You could prrrovide yourrrr head on a silverrr platterrr, Masterrr," she said with complete seriousness and contempt. "And I may even add yourrrr play toy's head. Afterrr all, she was the rrreprrresntative of a defunct goverrrnment."

Ranma had his saber out, and held at the ready. "I like it right where it is, Bastet. As does Setsuna."

As Bastet extended her lightsaber, there came a shout: "For threatening young couples in love…Setsuna?" Of course the speech was interrupted when Sailor Moon saw who was standing there, being threatened by the Sith Lord.

Setsuna turned her head ever so slightly. Standing about 20 meters behind the couple, were the Inners and the Outers. Haruka had this smirk on her face that the Senshi of Time wanted to wipe off. Makoto looked ready to run in and try and bash the person who was threatening her brother. Usagi was standing there, frozen in shock. "They are so not ready for this," the Guardian of Time muttered.

"Bastet," Ranma growled, "I don't mind if you threaten me, but never, ever threaten the person I love."

Bastet chuckled. "Arre you going to seduce and leave this one too, Tarrquin?"

Ranma approached in a nonthreatening manner. "Bast-chan," he said, "if it wasn't for Catia's strict laws, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Do you remember how the Force sang to us when we worked together?"

As Ranma was trying to diplomatically work on changing Bastet's mind, Setsuna made her way back towards the Senshi. "This is the threat I warned you about, Princess. And you are nowhere near ready to take this on." From behind her, there was the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber activating. She turned around, in time to see the two sabers clash with a display of pyrotechnics. "Kuso," she swore. "Do not interfere; any of you. This is a duel of honor." The action between the two was fast and furious, so much so that even Setsuna couldn't keep up with the fight.

"When I left you, Tarrrquin, I was the learrrnerrr. Now, I am the masterrr."

"Only a master of evil, Bastet," Ranma countered.

"The Emperrrorrr has shown me the powerrr of the Darrrk Side. Now, it's time I show you." The Catian Sith Lord flipped out of the way of Ranma's last attack, and was far enough that it would take the pigtailed Jedi Master a few minutes to close the distance. With her lightsaber held in a one-handed guard position, she raised her free hand. "Now, Tarrrquin, you will die." Cerulean blue bolts of Force lightning flew from her fingers, and impacted on the Jedi, creating a St. Elmo's Fire dance along his lightsaber.

Ranma deflected what he could with his energy blade, but was still overwhelmed. Every nerve center fired off at once, causing the Jedi to release his lightsaber, and collapse twitching to the ground. The Senshi stood shocked, as they watched in horror as Ranma twitched and writhed on the ground in screaming agony as bolt after bolt of Force lightning hit him, until he lost consciousness.

There was a solitary whisper. "Dead Scream," and the ball of compressed time flew from Setsuna's hand. It was just enough of a distraction that Bastet had to defend herself with her 'saber. It was also enough that the Senshi regained their wits.

"Mercury aqua rhapsody!"  
"Venus love and beauty shock!"  
"Moon spiral heart attack!"  
"Mars Flame Sniper!"  
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"  
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"  
"World Shaking!"  
"Deep Submerge!" Bastet was hit by a number of the attacks, but was already making her escape, ducking, dodging, and weaving around them.

"I'll get you yet, Tarrrquin, if it's the last thing I ever do!"


	7. Chapter 6

_Tarquin walked into the Council chamber anteroom. It'd been over six Standard months since he'd been stripped of his Padawan, his right to take on a new Padawan, and his authority to adjudicate decisions. He languished in a sort of Jedi limbo that could, at any time, result in his dismissal from the Order. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that his late father, Gaius Quintus Lim, was held in such high esteem by the Council, he would have been summarily dismissed after the Honorable Senator from Catia made her demands in front of the Jedi Council. The doors to the Council chamber opened, and he walked in. "As I have been summoned, Masters, so I appear before this Council," Tarquin stated, humbly. _

_Nejaa Halcyon chuckled from his seat. "Humble as ever, Master Lim," the Corellian Master said mirthfully._

"_Yet, stand before this Council for assignment he does," Yoda countered. "In much trouble he has been of late. Think we forgot your indiscretion with your Padawan, we have not, Master Lim."_

"_Those issues, while still on your record, are not why we summoned you today," Master Windu said. "Master Yoda is correct. We have an assignment for you; one that requires the dedication and discipline of a Jedi. Unfortunately, all we have is you." Master Halcyon tried valiantly to contain his mirth._

_The Corellian Master cleared his throat. "Master Lim, you have been assigned to diplomatic escort duties." Before Tarquin could protest, Halcyon raised his hand, forestalling the coming argument. "This is a special case, and requires a delicate touch, Master Lim. We, the Council, feel that you have the touch necessary." Neeja had heard rumors of just how delicate Tarquin's touch was, and smiled inwardly at his turn of phrase._

"_Then, if you feel that I have the skills for this delicate assignment, then, I have no choice but to accept."_

"_Would you at least like to hear what the assignment is," Mace Windu asked. Tarquin respectfully nodded. "You are to escort the Ambassador to the Republic from a small extra-galactic civilization that wishes formal dialogue with the Republic."_

"_Wait a moment, Masters. There's life outside the galaxy? Was this civilization discovered by the Outward Bound project?"_

"_Discovered by us, they were not. Discovered by them, we were," Yoda replied. The elderly Master nodded his head, and the Ambassador walked out of the shadows._

_Besides the emerald green hair and mysterious red eyes, which could have placed her from any of a thousand planets, Tarquin noted that the indecently short black skirt of her uniform revealed an obscene amount of perfectly tan flesh. A key shaped staff completed the ensemble. "Master Lim," she said in a seductive voice, "I am Lady Pluto, the Ambassador from the Silver Millennium."_

_Tarquin bowed. "Your Excellency, I am but your humble servant to command."_

_Setsuna chuckled throatily. "I do hope that won't be necessary," she said with a twinkle in her eye, even though she was captivated by her new bodyguard._

00000

As Ranma slowly regained consciousness, the memory of that first meeting so long ago receding into a quiet recess of his mind, his senses came back on line. Smell was the first one. He could smell Setsuna's perfume…intermingled with fear. Sound followed, and he could hear his emerald-tressed fiancée's ragged, sob-filled breathing, as well as his own breathing. Taste arrived, and the pigtailed Jedi thought that he needed some mouthwash to get rid of last night's dinner. Short term memory got a kick start and reminded him that he didn't even have dinner yet. Or for that matter, even had breakfast. In fact, the Saotome stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten in a few hours. Loudly. Touch took a little longer, as his much abused nerve endings calmed down. He was lying on something soft, with his head resting on something soft, yet firm.

Finally cracking open his eyes, Ranma saw the tear-streaked face of his fiancée looking down on him. _So, that's what my head's resting on_, he thought to himself. "H-how long have I been out," he croaked.

"Two days, Ranma-kun," she replied. "I called you out sick for the week. A doctor friend of mine wrote the note for the school," she added with a weak smile. "Although he stated in vague terms, you were 'sick'."

Ranma looked up into his fiancée's bloodshot crimson eyes. He pulled her close and kissed her. She let the kiss deepen further, and her hands roamed Ranma's physique. Before anything further could happen, there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Yes," the Senshi of Time called, somewhat testily.

Hotaru stuck her head in. "Is Ranma-papa alright, Setsuna-mama?" Ranma raised an eyebrow at that.

"He's doing better, Hotaru-chan."

Hotaru brightened measurably. "Ok, Setsuna-mama. I'll let Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama know." She closed the door, quietly.

"What was that all about?" Ranma asked, although his eyes were bright at what he felt coming off the young girl.

"We, Haruka, Michiru and myself, are Hotaru's guardians. She has this power to heal herself and other people, which tends to frighten people. She used it on you when we brought you here, and again yesterday. That's how bad Bastet hurt you."

"Damn," he muttered. "So much for trying to bring her back over to the Light then."

"I think she's so firmly in the Dark that she'll never return to the Light. Especially how much she spat vengeance at you the other night. Ranma, I don't think it'll be safe for you to go back to your apartment. I want you to stay here. At least consider it for your own safety."

"And is there an ulterior motive?"

Setsuna gave her fiancé an innocent look. "Well," she drawled.

"Remember who and what I am, Suna-chan," he said, with a mischievous smile of his own.

"Curses," she said, twirling the end of an imaginary handlebar moustache. "Foiled again." As they both laughed at her cheesy Snidely Whiplash impersonation, Setsuna let go of the tension she was holding for the past two days.

Hotaru came bounding down the stairs, a smile on her face. "Setsuna-mama says Ranma-papa is doing better," she said cheerfully.

Michiru looked at her lover after their daughter's announcement, with a raised eyebrow at what she'd called Ranma. "That's good news. At least Setsuna won't be worried about him any more."

"Yeah. It seems weird though, that she hasn't been her usual mysterious self."

"Maybe it's something we didn't have the luxury of seeing when Serenity sent us forward. But then, how much of our housemate do we really know?"

Both elder Senshi looked up at the ceiling when they heard an unusual noise coming from Setsuna's bedroom. It sounded like a bed rocking, the headboard hitting the wall, and Setsuna screaming in ecstasy. Eyebrows went up and lecherous grins appeared on two of the three at the dining room table. "I guess," Haruka remarked, "Ranma's doing a _lot_ better. And has a lot of time to make up with her." Hotaru just placed her parent figures' looks and comments into the "Adults are weird" category.

"And I guess there's quite a lot we don't know Setsuna," Michiru added, as she swirled her tea.

00000

The next few months were intense, as Ranma trained his sister in the finer workings of manipulating the Force as well as other conventional martial arts in the morning, Hotaru in Tai Chi in the afternoons, and Setsuna as a Jedi in the evenings. He had mentally reviewed the battle with Bastet that had waylaid him, and felt that another ally would be a good thing. Of course, someone else was getting trained in a darker art as well, during this time. It would be interesting when these two powers that be clash in battle. He'd also seen that Hotaru was weaker than other kids her age and could be easily tired out by the smallest amount of physical activity. Tai Chi was a light enough martial art, and would aid the Senshi of Saturn over time, and allow Ranma time to work her up to his School.

He'd also moved out of his apartment and in with Setsuna, much to her pleasure. Michiru and Haruka, however, were knocked from their position as the perverted duo of the house. After all Setsuna did have thirty millennia to make up for with her lover, and was certainly trying to do so in less than a month. Of course, as the Gates' prediction was true, there were also mornings where Setsuna would curse out her fiancé, sometimes quite loudly, from the bathroom.

It had been a simple thing, when Ranma to proposed Setsuna. The other Outers were out—Michiru had a recital to go to—and Setsuna was at work. For Ranma, not being in the administration of the school, it was one of those rare administration only days. With his plan set in motion, he just waited for Setsuna to return home.

When she did, she noted that the lights were all off, with just candle lanterns providing enough light to see the dining room, and the other Outers were out. Hesitantly, she made her way to the dining room, where a decent-sized flower centerpiece sat. As the Guardian of eternity, the one thing that she appreciated, besides a good belt of something strong, were flowers. There was something about them that appealed to the Senshi of Time, a timelessness as it were. They bloomed, and died, and repeated the cycle, sometimes with variations, but always filling the air with their fragrant scents for as short a time as they were around. Candles illuminated the set table. Already Pluto's mind was running in analytical mode. _The other Outers aren't home; there are two place settings on the table, and Barry White is playing on the stereo. What does he have in store for me?_ The doughnut-shaped monolith that had been her whole existence since her appointment as Guardian of Time, kept silent. Although, Setsuna could hear snickering through the mental link she shared with Gates of Time.

She sat at the table, her wineglass already filled with a chilled delicate Chablis, water beading on the surface of the glass. Ranma stuck his head out of the kitchen. "It'll be just a few more minutes, Setsuna." Four months pregnant, and she was limiting herself to one glass of wine with dinner.

True to his word, Ranma came out a few minutes later, bearing a tray overloaded with food. "Ranma, you didn't," Setsuna said reproachfully.

He gave his lover his trademark smirk. "I did. Besides, you're eating for at least two now."

"Don't remind me," Setsuna muttered. She heard the Gates of Time snicker through the link she shared with them. _You wanted me to get back together with him._

**_I know_**, the Gates replied. **_Aren't you glad you did?_** Setsuna declined a response.

The dinner was filling, and conversation was light, as the candles slowly burned down. With the last of the main course done, Ranma stood and cleared away the dishes. "So, after this magnificent feast, what's for dessert," Setsuna asked.

Ranma smirked. "Why, it's zee cheese soufflé," he said with a cheesy French accent, as he brought it in from the kitchen. "Note how light and airy it is." He set it on the table. "But, before we partake of this dessert, I have a question to ask you."

He adjusted his robes and knelt before the Senshi of Time. "We've known each other for years, Setsuna. And well, the Force is telling me that this is finally the right thing to do. Setsuna, will you marry me?"

The flying glomp that Setsuna accomplished would have made a lavender-haired Amazon very proud. "Of course I will, Ranma," she said between kisses.

00000

At the Hikawa Shrine, the Inners were holding a cram course for the upcoming exams. Or more like trying to. Usagi and Minako were busy complaining about their brains hurting from all the studying. Rei was conferring with Makoto, the latter asking about how to sense "dark presences". And Ami was the only one with her nose in a textbook.

The Shrine priestess and the Jedi Padawan suddenly looked at each other. Both had a feeling of intense, dark emotions coming up the stairs. "Hey guys," Makoto called, "I think we're about to be attacked." Which then resulted in five naked twirly lightshows. The Senshi formed up in the courtyard, as two cloaked figures became visible as they climbed the stairs.

"So, we find the Sailorrr Senshi's hideout," one of the cloaked forms purred. "Hmm, and I sense a prrresence similarrr to Tarrrquin's. Could it be his sisterrr?"

"Bastet," Usagi said, "we have no quarrel with you. Nor does this planet have any quarrel with you. We ask that you leave us in peace."

"This planet would make a good outpost for the Empirrre. Admirrral Criofan can be lenient, if you give up Tarrrquin Lim and his family. Otherrrwise, the consequences will be…severrr." Makoto cringed slightly. She'd heard about Chel Nasin from her brother at dinner the other night.

"Mistress, might you allow me to duel? So that I might smite these pathetic goody two shoes with all the vengeance of the Dark Side?"

"Yes," Bastet purred. The other cloaked form withdrew their lightsaber, and ignited it. "Yes, my young apprrrentice. Have fun."

Her apprentice stalked closer towards the Senshi. "If any of you manages to defeat me," he said dramatically, as he threw back his cloak, "I will let you date me."

The Senshi shuddered to think of having a date with the delusional dark apprentice. Makoto stepped forward, calling her lightsaber forth from stuffspace. She ignited her blade, and held it in a _chūdan-no-kamae_. Darth Kuno brought his blood-red blade up into a similar stance. "I, Sailor Jupiter, accept your challenge." Ranma's teachings whispered in the back of her mind. _A Jedi fights not for prizes or possessions. A Jedi fights for peace, for honor; never in the attack, but always in the defense._ Makoto's green blade chased at the shadows of the Shrine.

"Verrry well then," Bastet said. "The challenge has been met and accepted. Any interrrferrrence will be a breach of honorrr. Death or disarrrm arrre the only acceptable means of winning."


	8. Chapter 7

Emerald green blade clashed against blood red, strobing the yard of the Shrine with electrical discharges. The two combatants separated for a moment, after they gauged their opponent's strength. "You are indeed strong, Jupiter," Darth Kuno said. "It will be my pleasure to date you if you win."

"Over my dead body," Makoto shouted.

"Wow, Mako-chan's not even swooning for this hunk," Usagi said to Rei, quietly.

"I think the waves of evil flowing from him might be a turn off," the shrine maiden and Senshi from Mars replied, just as quietly. "Either that, or the lethal intent this 'Darth Kuno' has, Usagi."

"Then, if that is the case, so be it. I attack!" Kuno attacked with renewed vigor.

Block, parry, dodge. Block, parry, dodge. Block, parry, dodge. It was all Makoto could do to keep her head attached to her shoulders. The fight slowly began to resemble some sort of Hong Kong martial arts movie, the way Makoto was avoiding Kuno's blood red blade. Her brother's training in Musabetsu Kakutou was evident, at the way the Senshi of Jupiter proved just how flexible she was, and, at the same time, kept flashing Kuno.

It was evidently working, since the Sith apprentice was beginning to suffer from the continual distraction. Makoto saw an opportunity, and launched her attack against the pervert. A flurry of green blade against red blade, pressed the Japanese Sith back, forcing him to retreat. As Kuno blocked one attack, Makoto made a subtle shift in the downward stroke. Her blade sliced through the grip of Kuno's saber, and through his wrist, severing the hand from the rest of his arm.

Bastet rose from her position. "Sailorrr Jupiterrr wins by disarrrm. Most imprrresive, Jupiterrr; most imprrresive. Come my young apprrrentice." Kuno nodded slowly, the shock of losing his hand at the wrist apparent as he cradled the injured limb. The Sith catgirl turned towards the Senshi. "Do not think that this little sparrr will end my quest for Tarrrquin Lim," she hissed, as the two Sith left the Shrine grounds.

"Wow, Mako-chan. That was unbelievable."

"Was it really necessary to slice his hand off?"

Makoto transformed back to her street clothes. "It was," she said full of regret. "It was either lose my head or cut his hand off. Those were the only conditions to win the spar.

"I'm going to go home and meditate, guys."

"Mako-chan," Usagi said, "if you need to talk about it, don't hesitate to call."

"Thanks Usagi," the Senshi of Jupiter said, before she began roof-hopping home.

00000

_Tarquin sat in the anteroom of Setsuna's suites that the Council had assigned to her. Representatives from the various systems comprising the Republic were in and out of her quarters on a fairly regular basis, paying their respects to the Ambassador from the Silver Millennium. The Senator from the Blattidae Sector and his/her/its retinue stood across from the Jedi Master. The six foot tall arthropod was chittering slightly to one of his/her/its advisers. The door to Setsuna's office opened, and the Senshi of Pluto walked into the anteroom, with the Senator from Gotal, and a copper-colored protocol droid._

_After saying her farewells to the Ambassador, she turned to her next appointment…and froze. "Cock…cock…cockroach! COCKROACH," she screamed in terror, when she saw the senator from Blattidae. She whipped out the Time Key from…somewhere, Tarquin noted with interest; and proceeded to pound the Senator to within a millimeter of his/her/its life._

_Tarquin shot out of his chair, and grabbed the key-shaped staff before the third hit. "Setsuna, let's go into your office, and talk about this." As he led the shell shocked Princess of Pluto into her office, he looked at the crumpled form of the Senator. His/her/its fore appendages were splayed out in a warding gesture, as well as her/her/its antennae were standing straight out._

"_Your Excellency," Tarquin said, apologetically, "please forgive the Ambassador this unseemly display of violence."_

_The Senator chittered, and Setsuna's protocol droid translated. "'We get that sort of reaction all the time. But what, pray tell, is a "cockroach"?'" Tarquin shrugged, and let the doors to the inner office close._

_The Senshi of Time hugged her guardian tightly. "I hate cockroaches. I despise cockroaches. I loathe cockroaches. Why did it have to be a six-foot tall cockroach?"  
_Ranma woke, as that memory of Tarquin's bubbled to the surface of his subconscious. Setsuna was curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He adjusted slightly, to get the blood circulating back in his arm, and smiled to himself. _I wonder if she still has that terrible fear of cockroaches._ Closing his eyes, Ranma nodded off back to sleep, and pleasanter thoughts.

The doorbell began an incessant ringing at the Outers's house, even as the sun barely cracked over the horizon. Haruka, half asleep, staggered down to the door and opened it. "Wha' ya wan'?" She mumbled.

Makoto looked at the butch Senshi of Uranus standing there in naught but her birthday suit. It took her a minute to translate Haruka's mumble into a coherent question. "I need to speak to Ranma, Haruka."

"Ya, sure," the cropped blonde muttered. She headed up the stairs and pounded on Ranma and Setsuna's door.

A few moments later, Ranma came down, dressed in his Jedi robes. "What can I do for you, imouto-chan," he asked, as they walked out to the backyard. As they began warming up, Makoto told her brother what had happened that night; how Bastet showed up at the Shrine with her apprentice, what demands the Sith Lord made, how her apprentice challenged her to honorable combat, and his absurd proclamation.

The Senshi of Jupiter described the fight, how it took all of her skills just to keep her head attached to the rest of her body. Ranma listened, as an impartial third party, even as he diverted his sister's attention by taking her through a lightsaber drill. Makoto kept up with her brother's drill, even as she told him about a slight tremor in the Force, showing her two possibilities, one of which led to Darth Kuno's being disarmed. The two Jedi began their cool down exercises, and meditated on the sunrise.

"There comes a time in every Jedi's career," Ranma said, finally making his assessment of his sister's fight, "when they must take either life or limb, to save either the life of the person they are sworn to protect, or their own life. I have seen several Jedi either move dangerously close the Dark Side and become failed Jedi, or shun worldly goods and assume an ascetic existence as hermits in the back end of nowhere. All because they were unable to come to grips with the taking of a life.

"You have fought many battles as a Senshi, and taken life when you needed to, Makoto. As a Jedi, you may be called to take a life, to defend the greater good. I can see that you did no wrong, Mako-chan. What you did was justified, and within the codes of the Jedi."

"Thank you, big brother," Makoto said,

00000

Admiral Criofan sat in the command chair of his flagship, the _Retribution_. "Lt. Aubrey, signal to the fleet: 'Set Condition One, and prepare to enter the wormhole.'"

The Admiral's flag lieutenant turned from the console he stood at. "Yes Admiral." Lt. Aubrey walked over to the fleet communications station, and repeated the order to the technician there. Confirmations began appearing on the screen. "Admiral, the fleet has confirmed Condition One and standing by to enter the wormhole." The tactical holo-repeater showed the fleet arrayed around the flagship for battle.

"Very good. Captain Schenker, bring the ship to Condition One."

Captain Schenker looked down in the crew pits. "Set Condition One throughout the ship." Alarm klaxons began ringing across the bridge, lighting dimmed, and there was a faint shimmer through the viewports as the shields were raised. Stormtroopers arrived on the bridge. The Captain turned to the Admiral's command chair. "Admiral, your vessel is fully at your command."

"Take us in, Captain."

The cruiser's three massive primary and four smaller secondary sublight engines fired, propelling the mile-long warship towards the event horizon. Four small flashes could be seen in the distance, and the wormhole flashed open. It was a credit to Imperial science and technology that they were able to recreate the accident that sent their quarry across the universe.

The prow of the dagger-shaped warship crossed the horizon, and the _Retribution_flashed into nothingness. In ones and twos, the other ships in the formation penetrated the event horizon and crossed the gulf of space and time in the blink of an eye.

The formation of Imperial warships emerged in the Milky Way galaxy, 4.4 light-years from Sol, in a trinary star system, dead in space. Power systems throughout the warships had been knocked offline by the wormhole, as if they had been hit by ion cannons. Engineers worked frantically to restore power to the Imperial warships, before they turned into airless coffins. Slowly though, the ships returned to life, and engineers of restored ships shuttled between those ships where the engineers were having difficulties getting the power back on.

"Report!" Admiral Criofan shouted from his seat.

"Admiral," Lt. Aubrey said, "the fleet is currently in the process of restoring power, to those ships affected by the wormhole."

"Very well. As soon as the fleet is back to operational status, I want Astrogation to find out where we are. This does not look like the system that our quarry is in."

"Aye sir," Lt. Aubrey said to Criofan's retreating back.

A chime sounded in the flag quarters, waking the Admiral. "What is it," he growled into the intercom.

"_Admiral, we've established where we are, based on triangulation of signals from Bastet's Infiltrator._"

"So, Lieutenant, where are we?"

"_We are just over a parsec from the star system she reported our quarry in._"

"Very good. Status of the fleet?"

"_Still not good, Admiral,_" Lt. Aubrey reported. "_Emergency power has been restored to all ships, but main power is still down on several of our Victories, all of our Dreadnaughts, and the _Siege

"_We have detected a small terrestrial planet orbiting the central star of this system; oxygen and nitrogen levels within tolerances; temperature within norms as well. Several asteroids are within a reasonable distance and appear to contain mineral resources._"

"Very well then, we'll hunker down in this star system," Criofan said. "Once main power is restored on all vessels, deploy the repeater stations to anchor the wormhole in this system."

"_Understood sir._" Criofan shut off the intercom before his flag lieutenant could add anything further.

00000

With the wedding only a few hours away, Ranma was a ball of nerves at school, not that he'd admit it. His sister would have picked up on it, if she wasn't out of school getting ready for the wedding. The other Senshi were also out getting primped for wedding. It was a great relief when he left the school at lunch.

Mamoru was waiting for him at the Hikawa Shrine, wearing his mess dress uniform, although the jacket was hanging up. "You ready, Ranma?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," the pigtailed martial artist replied, adjusting his hakama and sash. They walked out of the room they were in, and towards the chapel.

Setsuna was cursing under her breath with every step she took. The formal wedding kimono she was wearing had been deliberately designed to make her take short, mincing steps, watching as she walked. It gave the Senshi of Pluto the appearance that she was the proper, demure Japanese housewife. Ranma's sister walked beside her as maid of honor, almost helping her brother's fiancée along. Setsuna looked up at her fiancé. "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Ranma-kun?"

Ranma swallowed hard, and nodded. "I've told you I love you Setsuna. We should have done this years ago." Makoto and Mamoru nodded to each other, and escorted the couple in.

Rei's grandfather presided over the ceremony, with the Senshi of Mars assisting. Setsuna knelt there, wondering why she had agreed to have a traditional ceremony, even as the marriage certificates were signed. Although once Nodoka got in her "traditional samurai family" mode, it was next to impossible to get her off of it.

Hino-san cleared his throat, before beginning, drawing both participants' attention to him. "Mawwidge, that Bwessed Awwangement is what bwings us hewe today…" It was a shame that Hino-san had been inspired by Peter Cook's bishop from "A Princess Bride" when he performed his ceremonies.

Ignoring the basis of what Hino-san was babbling, Ranma looked over at his bride. _Gods, she looks gorgeous. I feel so unworthy of her right now. Why is Hino-san speaking in that outrageously faked English accent? Is that a cramp I feel coming on? Maybe I should have stretched before getting dressed._

Hino-san got to the important part of the ceremony—the exchange of vows. "Do you Setsuna Meiou take Ranma Lim, to be your wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Setsuna looked at her fiancé. She had truly come to love the pigtailed man who had merged with her former lover's memories when he fell into that Spring. "I do."

Hino-san looked at Ranma. "Do you Ranma Saotome, son of Genma, son of Nodoka, take Setsuna Meiou to be your wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Ranma had made his decision a month and a half ago, the night he was attacked by Bastet. "I do."

"The ring?" Mamoru handed Ranma a simple gold and platinum band. "Repeat after me, then. 'With this ring…'

"With this ring…"

"…'I, Ranma Saotome…'"

"…I, Ranma Saotome…"

"…'Wed thee, Setsuna.'"

"…Wed thee, Setsuna." With the last words spoken, Ranma slipped the ring on to Setsuna's left ring finger.

"Then by the powers granted to me by Amaterasu-sama, I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Ranma pulled his wife into an embrace and kissed her. She responded in kind.


	9. Chapter 8

Deep within Imperial-held space, bulk freighters slipped into Imperial Navy boneyards. Warships sat in mothballs, just waiting for them to be acquired. Some, like the Victory II-class Star Destroyers, virtually brand new, were mothballed in favor of the Imperator-class Star Destroyers. Others, like huge quantities of Dreadnoughts, were deemed either obsolescent or antiquated by the Imperial Starfleet's purchasing office. But all of them were still fully operational. A few freighters even managed to slip into various Kuat Drive shipyards and slip off with a couple or four Imperator I-class Star Destroyers, eventually losing the pursuing Imperial forces to superior and recklessness navigation.

The bulk freighters docked with their target ships, and the crews aboard them rushed on to their target vessels. Resistance was nonexistent, and the Imperial warships slowly came back to life. They slipped out of the boneyards singly and in pairs, towards a rendezvous deep within Wild Space.

Other freighters and passenger liners met the warships there, and transferred crew, passengers, and supplies. Survivors from Chel Nasin, survivors from other planets that met similar fates, idealists and dreamers, aliens and retired Navy personnel became crewmembers. Ten early production X-wings somehow found their way to this fleet that was being raised along with Clone Wars-vintage ARC-170 snubfighters and were being based on the Star Destroyers.

With the fleet stocked and assembled, the rebel warships proceeded from the nebula they were hiding in. Once clear of the nebula's boundary, the ships began their runs up to lightspeed, heading for a stable wormhole, accidentally discovered by the Rebellion, in the Zelos Sector.

00000

"Ranma, do you trust me?" Setsuna asked her husband on a spring morning at breakfast. That piqued the interest of the other Outers, and caused even a mild reaction in Ranma—he raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask," Ranma questioned. "Suna, we've been married since after Christmas, you've fought by my side against Bastet and Darth Kuno, until you were unable to."

"Because there's something I want to show you," she replied. She levered herself out of her chair, and gripped her husband by his shoulder. She looked at the other Outers. "We'll be back later," she said in an even tone, and the two of them disappeared.

Ranma looked around at the cavernous space before him as best he could. The Palace's power grid was in total disarray after Beryl and Metalia's attacks on the system 30 thousand years ago; so there were very few multi-million candlepower floodlights functional, creating dim and dark recess. The air was stale, like an unopened tomb's; the couple's breath coalesced before them in the frigid temperatures.

The royal airdocks beneath Tycho Crater were empty; the snubfighter bays were likewise empty. The facility could easily support a fleet of sufficient size to combat the one that was supporting Bastet. But the biggest problem was getting that fleet. Building the ships would take too long; training the crews would take even longer to make them a coherent fighting force. And Earth didn't have the capabilities to provide the advanced construction materials for such a fleet. As it was, NASA and the other space administrations thought that chemical fueled rockets were sufficient for low-earth orbit at this time. He looked at his wife, as he leaned against the guardrail. Even with gravity 1/6th of Earth normal, a fall from the rail would be fatal. "Suna-chan, why did you show me this?"

"Ranma, like it or not, you are the only one even remotely qualified for this task," she replied. "The Senshi have never fought with subordinates before. You, on the other hand, fought in the Clone Wars, led troops loyal to the Republic, and won decisive battles, without relying too heavily on clonetroopers. Usagi wants you to lead the fleet in the defense of the Earth."

Ranma leaned against a railing. "Suna," he said, "my 'decisive battles' were Force-inspired recoveries of near-disasters that I picked up from a non-Jedi general who had been fired from his position. Before that, I spent more time in the background, running infiltration and sabotage teams, designed to set the Separatists' planets aflame. My group was the Special Operations Executive, and we reported only to the Jedi Council, not the Senate, not Palpatine.

"Besides, I've never led a decisive fleet engagement. That's why the Republic had admirals. I was always planetside."

"I know that Ranma," Setsuna said, almost pleading. "I also know where your troops have been hiding from the Empire."

"Troops are one thing, Setsuna. What about ships? Bastet's got a fleet of twenty six warships backing her up. And the majority of those are Star Destroyers. Hell, in fact almost all of them are. The Empire didn't feel the need to permanently assign any smaller ships to chase after me. No, just twenty Imperator and Victory-class Star Destroyers, a handful of Dreadnaughts, and one Interdictor. And don't forget that the Impstars and Vicstars house fighters, that's at least a wing of fighters per ship." Ranma was playing Devil's Advocate to Setsuna's line of reasoning, and everything was quite logical. "Now, let's say you manage to find twenty Vicstars and an equal number of Dreadnaughts for us to play with. You're looking at 30 _thousand_ crewmembers per Vicstar, 20 _thousand_ per Dreadnaught. That's a million men to feed, house, clothe, train, and entertain. And reinforcements? That's another half-million men. Where are we going to put them? On Earth? It'd take too long to get them back to their ships in the event of an attack, and somehow, I don't think that Terran governments would suddenly want a million and a half new citizens. Here? I saw the Palace grounds when we got here. This place is trashed, Setsuna."

Setsuna looked at her husband. His arguments were valid, but she had thought this through, to the end. And this was the only way to win the fight that was brewing between the future Crystal Tokyo and the Empire. She smiled at him, with her patented "I'm so cool, liquid nitrogen can't melt in my mouth" smile. "Those were the very same arguments I brought up to Usagi, when I told her what would happen if we were to defeat Bastet and Kuno. But I also mentioned to her that the Palace computer has a built-in repair feature that can only be activated by a command station on the moon. By the time our fleet gets here, we'll have sufficient enough quarters for them. And, yes Ranma, you will have a fleet. While you've been teaching at Juuban, teaching Makoto and the rest of the Senshi to be better warriors, I've been talking with your old comrades in arms."

"I should have known," Ranma said, "you'd do something like this. You do realize that we're going to have to get this planet united behind us, Setsuna. It wouldn't do to have an enemy base in our rear area."

Setsuna smiled. "I know anata. That's why you'll be going to New York, to talk to the United Nations."

"You aren't serious, are you?"

"I am serious, anata," Pluto replied. "You are meeting with the General Assembly in two days. Just be yourself, and you'll be fine. I've already asked the Prime Minister to vouch for your credentials, on behalf of the Republic and the Silver Millennium."

"And if they ask for concessions, like warships?"

"Tell them we'll have enough starships for them in two months."

"And if the Empire decides to attack before we're ready?"

"Then the future that we've seen will come true. And we're up a creek without a paddle."

000000

On a small terrestrial planet, orbiting Alpha Centauri A, Admiral Criofan's fleet had established a forward operating base. Requests for additional repair and logistical support facilities were actually heeded. Several field deployable asteroid mining facilities were just beginning operations, and stockpiles of raw materials were being assembled. After consultations with his engineers and Bastet, Admiral Criofan decided to hunker down and prepare for the potential for siege. This gave the Catian Sith lord time to try to recruit and train allies on Earth, as well as giving Ranma and the Senshi time to build their forces up.

The Imperial Starfleet had provided the Admiral with all the necessities of war, including field brothels, recreation facilities, repair yards, bulk carriers full of munitions and food, and tankers loaded with fuel. Palpatine had evidentially given his blessing to expand the Empire into an extra-galactic entity. Formations of Star Destroyers were busy mapping local space, providing the Imperial forces on the small planet with much needed navigational intelligence. Probe droids were liberally spread throughout the region, after the scouting expeditions left, to provide long-term tactical and strategic intelligence.

Another indication of the Emperor's favor for extra-galactic expansion came through the artificial wormhole—one of the precious few Super-class Star Destroyers, the _Revenge_. This 19 kilometer long behemoth was a fleet unto itself, and nigh invincible. Almost a thousand weapons batteries covered the surface of the warship; scores of TIE fighters flew from her fighter bays. And worst of all, a legion of stormtroopers to carry out the ground assaults. Admiral Criofan immediately transferred his flag to the _Revenge_, upon her arrival into the Alpha Centauri system.

00000

Ranma paced in an antechamber off to the side of the General Assembly, his Jedi robes swishing with each step. He was nervous. Public speaking had never been his strong point, and now here he was about to try to convince the planet Earth to unite to defeat an extraterrestrial threat. The irony of the situation—an extraterrestrial trying to warn the Earth of a threat from outer space. The door to the antechamber opened, and one of the ushers stuck his head in. "Master Lim? The General Assembly will see you."

"I will either convince them to unite, or I will not," Ranma said quietly to himself. "'Do, or do not. There is no try.'" The reborn Jedi Master could almost feel the presence of the wizened Jedi Master, as he walked through the door. His confidence restored, Ranma strode into the main chamber of the United Nations building, and walked to the dais.

"Madame Secretary General, Honorable Ambassadors, Honored Heads of State, and the citizens of the planet Earth, I bring you greetings from the Galactic Republic, and warning of dire times ahead. My name is Ranma Lim, and I hold the ranks of Master in the Jedi Order and General in the Grand Army of the Republic.

"The Republic was a galaxy spanning government that encompasses over a hundred million star systems and trillions of sentient beings in, not to sound trite, a galaxy far, far away. During a very credible threat to the safety of the Republic, the very democratic processes that the Jedi were established to protect and uphold were usurped by a tyrant who declared himself 'Emperor', and swept away all who would stand in his way, including the Jedi Order. I may very well be the last Jedi alive, and for that simple fact, I may very well have placed this planet in grave danger." There were murmurings from the assembled ambassadors and heads of state in the Assembly chambers.

Undaunted, Ranma pressed on. "The Empire, as the Republic is now called, would not hesitate to lay this planet to waste, just to capture or kill me. They have hunted down my friends and colleagues, enslaved sentient races for their war machine, destroyed planets that haven't agreed with the Empire's methods. They are ruthless, and would not hesitate to add this planet under their regime. Or destroy it.

"The Emperor is ruthless beyond any reason. His evil makes the despots of Earth's history; Genghis Khan, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, the emperors of Rome, pale by comparison."

The ambassador from the People's Republic of China stood. "If what you say is true, General, then this 'Empire' is a vastly more technologically advanced than we are. For us to defend ourselves against them would by like ants attacking a person."

"That, Mr. Ambassador, is a very valid point. Allies of mine, including former soldiers under my command, are currently enroute with a fleet of warships. For Earth's assistance, and as the core for an Earth Defense Force, I am willing to provide the technology and training for this branch of the human race to move out into space."

"So General," the US ambassador drawled in his deep Southern accent, "by the time your vessels get here, it wouldn't make a difference one way or the other."

Ranma smiled. "As I said, the fleet is already on their way here, and should be arriving within the next two months. Since their star charts of this galaxy are over 30 millennia old, they need to recalibrate their charts every few days, to account for stellar drift."

"So where are we going to house this fleet of starships? We don't have any real permanent orbital facilities on the scale that you would need."

"That is correct. And we will come to that juncture when the fleet arrives. But you needn't worry about it." Even though it wasn't an outright lie, it _was_ truthful. The airdock under the Tycho Crater would be the fleet's new home. And the near-Earth asteroids would make for sufficient initial mineral resources to begin constructing new and better orbital facilities. Plus the smaller ships and the fighters could be used to clear out the orbiting junk that was low Earth orbit.

"General Lim," another ambassador asked, "what would you require of us? Besides setting aside our differences and uniting under one banner."

"If my allies were unable to get sufficient numbers of personnel to effectively man their ships, we would require able-bodied personnel in sufficient numbers to provide full compliments as well as a reserve pool. That information I will have when the fleet arrives, however, my best estimates lean towards one and a half million soldiers. I know NATO and the Russian Confederation have those numbers of men, as does the People's Liberation Army. I would like to reiterate that this is a global threat, and that this is a planet that I've come to call home.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I urge you to act on this with haste. The Empire may well be establishing forward bases in this system even as we deliberate. Once they do, it will become almost impossible to remove them without a high cost in casualties.

"I will leave you to your deliberations, and may the Force be with you." With that, Ranma turned and walked out of the main assembly hall.

While Ranma was leaving the United Nations, for the penthouse suite the Japanese Embassy provided for him, the other end of the wormhole flared to life, in a sector near the Ceti Alpha star system. The first few ships, Corellian corvettes, made the first tentative moves into the Milky Way, like hounds sniffing out a scent, before the wormhole cycled again. More ships emerged into this new galaxy, expanding the foothold this rebel fleet had. With the appearance of the four Imperator-class Star Destroyers, the fleet was fully formed, and ready to jump to lightspeed. Ancient Silver Millennium star charts were updated by the navigational computers, taking into account several eons worth of stellar drift. With the proper courses laid in, the fleet ran up to lightspeed, and began heading for their new home world.

00000

"Ranma," Setsuna called, while her husband was in the shower, "I think you ought to see this." She heard the water slow to a stop, and saw her husband come out into the sitting room of the suite, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"What's so important that it couldn't wait until after my shower?"

"This," she replied, gesturing to the television.

The screen showed the Oval Office, with the President sitting behind his desk. "_My fellow Americans; an historic precedent has been set today. We are no longer alone in the universe. It was announced today at the United Nations in New York City that there is a very credible threat to the safety to this planet. Under more normal circumstances, we would assume that global warming or ozone layer, or some other mundane reason would be the cause for concern._

"_Today, it was revealed by General Ranma Lim, Ambassador-in-exile from the Galactic Republic; that the threat to our planet is from a tyrannical Galactic Empire, hell bent on universal domination._

"_When the Founding Fathers declared our independence from the British Empire, they pledged their fortunes, their honor, and their lives to ensure that an independent nation would be born on these shores. It has been said that if 'we don't stand together, we'll certainly hang separately.' I would be remiss in my oath of office and my duty to this planet _not _to support the resolutions calling for the creation of an Earth Defense Force and unification of the planet under the banner of the United Nations, as the very existence of this Galactic Empire threatens not only our existence as a sovereign planet, but the existence of other, possibly inhabited planets in our galaxy, that we as a people can reach out to and form alliances and trade agreements with._

"_I call on our allies, our friends, and yes, even our enemies, to put aside our petty, terrestrial differences and support any and all resolutions that call for the formation, staffing, and support of an Earth Defense Force. We are all inhabitants of this planet Earth, and if we don't stand together, we'll certainly hang together._

"_Good night; and God Bless._"

Ranma sat down on the couch. "Well, that was interesting. I just hope that President Whitmore can pull off uniting the planet under the banner of the United Nations."


	10. Chapter 9

Looking out over the skyline of Manhattan, Setsuna wrapped her arms around her husband. "How did it go today," she asked, as she rested her head against his back.

"It could have gone better," Ranma replied. "These politicians are as stagnant as the Senate was. And they don't even have the same numbers of constituents to represent."

"That's the universal constant of politicians, anata. Even during Serenity's reign, they couldn't pull their heads out of their collective asses."

"That's why Palpatine won the election for Chancellorship; too many factions vying for power and prestige. I just hope that won't that…" Ranma felt a tremor in the Force, coming from his wife.

"Ranma," she said, "I think…no, it _is_ time."

00000

A pair of Corellian corvettes and a Star Destroyer slipped into the Sol system, observed by both the Hubble Telescope and a pair of Imperial probe droids, and made their way for the third planet. US Space Command noted the radar returns coming from their space-scanning radar stations, and recommended an upgraded defense posture for the planetary alert forces. American Minuteman III and other nations' obsolescent ICBMs had their warheads upgraded to a surface to space capability, with combination thermal and radar guidance packages, after Ranma's bombshell at the UN about the Empire. Fighter crews manned their alert fighters, in preparation to take to the skies to defend their native countries. The trio of ships entered high orbit around Earth, in an orbit that would make it difficult for them to open fire on the planet, showing their peaceful intent.

Earth-based telescopes zoomed in on the three ship formation, as a pair of fighters and a shuttle left the Star Destroyer. The smaller three ship formation streaked into Earth's atmosphere, eventually touching down at New York City's JFK Airport. Limos that had been dispatched from the UN at the last minute arrived at the airport, as the party from the shuttle entered the terminal. The US Immigration and Customs officers were at a loss on how to process these individual into the country, especially since their travel documents were data cartridges, not paper passports. They were vouched in by members of the United Nations security detail, sent to escort them to Manhattan.

Ranma stood in front of the windows of the nursery at NYU Medical Center. His children were peacefully sleeping in their bassinets, as the nurses tended to the other newborns in the room. Setsuna slipped up next to her husband, and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Well, Ranma, I'd say that your legacy has been secured," she said quietly.

He kissed the top of her head. "I would think so as well," he replied. "Siobhan looks so much like her mother, that she'll be turning heads when she gets older."

"I know she will," Setsuna said.

They were interrupted by a subtle throat clearing. "General Lim, I presume?"

The couple turned around. "Gerrod?" Ranma asked. The person in the burgundy of the Republic Navy nodded. "My god, it is you."

"General, it's been some time. You've changed. Lady Pluto, a pleasure to see you again." Setsuna nodded sagely.

"And you haven't," Ranma said. "As for the changes, it's a rather long story."

"I'm sure it is, General. I'm sure you know why I am here."

"I assume that it has something to do with the planetary defenses going on to an alert status?"

Admiral Gerrod nodded. "Yes sir. I was told by Lady Pluto to report to you, prior to our penetration into the star system. The fleet is currently two parsecs out, holding station in the Chara star system. They can be here in a matter of days."

Ranma put his arms around his back. "Excellent. Although I'm sure your approach to Earth didn't go unnoticed. If I know Criofan, he'll be spoiling for a fight. He's hotheaded and intemperate, all this waiting around has probably been to the best of his abilities."

Gerrod nodded. "I vaguely remember him as an ensign. He was hotheaded back then as well. And with him in charge of Star Destroyers, I can see him implementing Base Delta Zero on this planet. Forgive me, General. I know of your fondness for Chel Nasin."

"It was part of the dark times, Gerrod," Setsuna said. "Now, we have the instrument to prevent that fate from happening here."

"How many ships do we have, Admiral," Ranma asked, pulling himself out his thoughts of vengeance.

"Four Imperator-class Star Destroyers, 16 Victory-class, 20 Dreadnoughts and 40 Corvettes, sir. All Star Destroyers have a full compliment of ARC-170 snubfighters. We also have 25 Gallofree cargo ships, and four bulk carriers loaded with supplies, provisions, and, I regret, families. All vessels are fully manned and operational, sir. The Star Destroyers are all first generation. The Empire kept closer tabs on their second generation Imperators."

"It's understandable, Admiral, that we'd have families. After all, if they're here, the Empire can't use them as hostages," Ranma said. "And we do have a home for them, right Setsuna?"

"Of course, anata," she replied enigmatically.

"At least we have a fleet…" Ranma turned to one of two gentlemen in black suits that had approached. "Yes Agent Smith?"

The tall African-American nodded. "General, I've gotten word from the United Nations. They've voted to provide personnel and logistical support in defense of Earth."

"Excellent," Ranma said. "That takes care of my biggest concern. Now then…how do we integrate Earth personnel into this fleet?"

"The question, General, is," Gerrod said, looking at the signs in the hospital, "how quickly can we teach them to read Basic. Or rather how do we at least convert our computers over to this text format?"

"Very true." Setsuna had, at this time, slipped back to her room, to rest. Delivering the twins had taken quite a bit out of the Senshi of Time. Ranma led Admiral Gerrod off to an unused room and closed the door. "There is a tremor in the Force that is telling me that Admiral Criofan won't be content to wait much longer before he chooses to strike Earth. Signal the fleet. Tell them proceed to this star system, with caution. Make sure that those freighters are protected at all costs. It will take far too much time to develop the industries that we need if we lose even one ship.

"Until the fleet arrives, have your fighters patrol this star system. Anything outside of orbital altitude of the planets is to be considered hostile. I'll request silhouette profiles of any Terran probes that are in the system, but they are generally marked with national or multinational insignias. Make sure your pilots have a visual on the probes before they open fire."

"Understood, General. As soon as I'm on my way to the _Republic_, I'll send out the orders. At full speed, it should take the first wave of warships only a few days to get here. We'll convoy the freighters in with full escort, of course. I'll also send down a shuttle for your use, General."

"Thank you, Gerrod. I'll see you up on the _Republic_."

* * *

"Republic_, this is Red Seven, flight of two; requesting departure clearance._" 

"_Red Seven, _Republic. _You are cleared for departure. Begin your patrol from the Sol 6 out. Red Nine, you are cleared for departure after Red Seven flight. Begin your patrol route from the Sol 6 in. Blue Three, hold for Red Nine departure; once clear, begin your patrol in the asteroid belt between planets Sol 4 and Sol 5. _Republic _Actual: cleared to dock, forward hangar. Shuttle _Enterprise_, you are cleared to depart after _Republic _Actual has finished docking._" The radio was full of chatter, as the _Republic_ began implementing the orders that Admiral Gerrod relayed on his way up from the surface. Four ARC-170s flew combat aerospace patrol around the Imperator; two more were flying escort for the shuttle.

As the shuttle approached the smaller forward hangar, the first pair of snubfighters cleared the main bay, and began their run up to hyperspace to do a system jump to Saturn. One of the probe droids holding station at LaGrange point 5 saw the activity and sent a data burst towards Alpha Centauri.

00000

Admiral Criofan looked over the probe droids data. "So…my dear Tarquin has gotten at least a Star Destroyer and a couple of corvettes." He handed the data pad back to his flag lieutenant. "And an Imperator at that; I'd have never thought that the Jedi would be able to pull it off."

"Yes sir," Lt. Aubrey replied. "There've been reports from Imperial Intelligence that certain factions of Rebels are getting more and more brazen. Four Imperator I-class Star Destroyers were seized from their drydocks in various Outer Rim Territories. This ship might be one of the ones stolen."

"Of course it is, you dolt," Criofan scoffed. "Why else would it be in orbit of Sol 3? Unless you think that one of _my_ ships defected."

"Not at all, sir. It's just that I was looking at the evidence, and was surprised that it would be here, and not with a Rebel fleet somewhere in our own galaxy, Admiral."

The intelligence didn't go unnoticed by Bastet. The Sith lord was of two minds about the situation, as she stalked the medical facilities, while Kuno was being fitted for an artificial leg, after another run-in with Sailor Jupiter. It seemed that her first apprentice was failing heavily when it came to fighting the lightsaber-yielding Senshi. The Catian resolved that should Kuno fail again, he'll wind up kitty litter. Either her former master had gotten allies, or Admiral Criofan had decided to stage a raid on Earth. Of course, she hadn't heard anything from the pompous arrogant ass in charge of the fleet. "Not so technologically prrrimative afterrr all," she purred, as she watched her newest apprentice spar against Kuno. "This will make the final battle much morrre delicious when it occurrrs." The fanged boy didn't have any real finesse with a lightsaber, but he was phenomenally strong and pig-headed stubborn. Excellent for keeping her former master busy, Bastet felt.

00000

A pair of F/A-18E Super Hornets touched down at NAS Oceana, and taxied towards their parking areas. Superimposed on their tails were the skull and crossbones of VFA-103, the Jolly Rogers. As the fighters taxied up, the pilot of the lead fighter noticed a staff car near their spot. Wheels were chocked, engines shut down and canopies rose when the fighters reached their designated parking spots on the tarmac. One of the occupants of the staff car climbed out, and walked towards the lead fighter. "Commander Fokker?"

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"New orders for your squadron from COMNAVAIRLANT, sir. You're to report to Houston Space Center and begin training for zero-gee operations."

Commander Roy Fokker looked at the staff weenie in front of him, dressed in summer undress whites. "For the whole squadron," he repeated. "I take it this has something to do with what President Whitmore had to say two months ago?"

"Yes sir."

Roy took the envelope from the Lieutenant. "Thank you. Dismissed."

At Iruma Airbase, just outside of Tokyo, a similar conversation was occurring. "Sir, Captain Konishi reporting as ordered," the muscle-bound deputy squadron commander said, as he entered General Tskumoto's office. He noticed that both Colonel Yumioki and Major Kengamine were there as well.

"At ease, Captain," the diminutive Central Air Division commander said. He looked down at the sheet of paper on his desk. "Captain, effective immediately, the 801st Tactical Training Squadron is disbanded…"

"WHAT!" Konishi roared, interrupting the four star general. "General, we've passed every flight evaluation that Major Kengamine and Col. Yumioki could throw at us."

"I know, Captain." Tskumoto replied in a tone that screamed "Interrupt me again, and you'll be flying freight into McMurdo Sound." "The 801st is to be redesignated as the 801st Tactical _Fighter_ Squadron. You and your pilots are to report to Houston Space Center to begin training for zero-gee operations."

Konishi's jaw hit the floor. "Tactical fighter squadron," he repeated, incredulously.

Tskumoto gave the bearded captain one of his rare smiles. "Yes, Captain. We will also be increasing your numbers, as well. Apparently the fighters that you will be flying, although we don't have full information, require three man crews.

"This position also warrants promotion to the rank of Major. Congratulations, Major Konishi.

"And Major Kengamine, since you declined this assignment, _you'll_ be flying the supply runs into McMurdo Sound," General Tskumoto said, as the weasel of a major wilted to the floor of the office.

00000


	11. Chapter 10

Obligatory AN: I'm stealing from all over, to fit into specific roles, and not planning on major additional crossovers. Well, except for throwing the Airbats into combat. And maybe borrowing Kei Nagase again.

**JOHNSON SPACE CENTER**  
Houston, TX

Roy Fokker sat in one of Johnson Space Center's largest auditoriums. Pilots from all over the US and from various Allied nations were there as well, watching and waiting. A pair of Air Force pilots were talking; one pilot sporting a patch for the High Technology Aircraft and Weapons Testing Center at Elliott AFB, the other had a 542nd Fighter Squadron patch on his shoulder. Roy chuckled at a German pilot, a long white silk scarf around his neck, like he was the Red Baron or something, talking with an RAF officer from 617 Squadron.

A figure wearing the burgundy single-breasted uniform of the Republic walked on to the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," she announced, "please take your seats, and we'll begin momentarily." There were murmurings as the pilots found their seats and complied with the Lieutenant's request. A large projection screen lowered from the ceiling, and the house lights dimmed.

The screen lit up, showing the battle of Coruscant between Republic and Separatist forces, highlighted specifically on the ARC-170's capabilities. The movie transitioned seamlessly into Incom's pitch for the T-65 X-wing, which was followed by Seinar Fleet System's pitch for the TIE fighter. The assembled pilots "Ooh'd" and "Aah'd" at what the fighters were capable of, even if they couldn't read the text.

The lights came up, and a six foot tall female panther standing on the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, good morrrning. I am Wing Commanderrr M'Rrret, aerrrospace grrroup commanderrr forrr the _Rrrepublic_. And I will be yourrr seniorrr instrrructorrr in the ARrrC-170 and T-16 Skyhopperrr…"

Roy returned to his room at the Holiday Inn down the road from the Space Center, and flopped onto his bed. He was lucky. As a senior officer, he was entitled to quarters by himself; most of the rooms had three or four junior officers in them. And it was like that at several hotels surrounding the NASA headquarters and training facility. Six hotels alone were occupied by American flight crews; the rest housed NATO and allied nations' crews.

The Jolly Rogers' skipper looked at the books he'd dropped on his desk. "Tomcat school wasn't as intense as this." The books covered everything from zero-g operations to troubleshooting a problem with the astromech. They'd have time to learn how to fly the fighters they'd be assigned. The Tomcat, Strike Eagle, Tornado, and Phantom crews were used to working with a weapons systems officer. Now they had to work with a tail gunner and a droid. At least the tail gunner could keep the bad guys off of them during combat.

00000  
**EMBASSY OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC  
**UNITED NATIONS BLDG  
New York City, NY

"General Lim," Agent Jones said, as the UN-appointed bodyguard walked into the Jedi's office in the United Nations building. "The Security Counsel is requesting your presence."

Ranma set down the data pad he was reading. "Very well then, I'll be right down." The Jedi stood, and walked out to the elevators. The commercial-grade Muzak that was piped into the UN's elevators was a challenge in and of itself to try to ignore. _Thank the Force that Palpatine never thought of Muzak in the lifts on Coruscant. I'm sure many a Senator would have voted him Emperor just to rid them of the blighted thing._ With the doors of the elevator opening on the right floor, Ranma walked out and headed to the Security Council chambers.

The Jedi Master entered, and noted that only ambassadors from the five permanent members of the Council sat there, along with a small number of ambassadors from US allies, and the General Secretaries of both NATO and the EU. "As I have been summoned," Ranma said with all modesty, "I have come."

Ambassador Beauregard, the US Ambassador to the UN, looked at the Japanese Jedi Master, standing humbly before them. "General Lim," the urbane gentleman from Louisiana drawled, "after consultation with my esteemed colleagues, we formally request that you take command of the Earth Defense Forces."

"Ambassador Beauregard, I am, to say the very least, humbled by your request. May I ask why I was nominated for such an honor?"

Ambassador Lee, from the Chinese delegation answered. "General, we discussed this while we brokered our unification under the United Nations banner. None of our flag officers have ever dealt with a three dimensional threat like this before, and are too hide-bound in their national interests to work with people they once considered enemies.

"We feel that someone without an established allegiance to any particular nation would be an ideal commander for the Earth Defense Force, and deal appropriately with integrating our forces with the Republican crews."

"And Admiral Gerrod has been enlightening us about your career in the Grand Army of the Republic. You sir," Ambassador Beauregard said, "have the tactical and technical skills to protect this system from the Empire."

"Then I shall trust in the Force to uphold and defend the ideals of this world that I have come to love. With your permission, gentlemen, ladies?" With a nod from the ranking ambassador, Ranma bowed, spun on his heel and walked out of the Security Council chambers.

Ranma walked through the doors of the Ambassadorial quarters, nodding to the two pairs of guards—a pair of US Marines, and a pair of troopers from the _Republic_—as well as two gentlemen in black suits. He smiled at the sight of his green-haired wife feeding their son, Tarquin. Siobhan was sleeping in the bassinet across from Setsuna. "So, how was your day, anata," Setsuna asked, as she put their son in the bassinet with their daughter.

"It was interesting," Ranma replied, as he walked over to the French doors leading out to the patio of the penthouse. He looked out, at the skyline of Manhattan, out past the hole in lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center had once stood. The penthouse was located on the Trump Tower, and had been donated to the Republic as ambassadorial quarters by the billionaire real estate magnate.

"How so?" Ever since she'd become a full time mom, the Senshi of Time had yet to visit the Gates, so it was an honest question for her to ask.

"I've been asked to take charge of the Defense Force," he said plainly. "Even the Force didn't warn me about this."

"As you've told me many times during our training, both on Coruscant and here, that the Force is still mysterious. Even for a Jedi Master." She'd taken the lack of a child in her arms to walk over to her husband, and wrap her arms around him. The steps she was standing on allowed her to rest her head on Ranma's shoulder.

"I know, Suna-chan," he said, watching the twinkling lights of the Big Apple below them.

"I'm going to the Moon later this week," he said, after a few moments of quiet reflection.

"Oh? How come?" Setsuna replied, her curiosity piqued.

"Gerrod needs to see where we're going to be keeping the fleet."

"A word of warning then, beloved. Harry's become a bit…eccentric since he's come back online, and began repairing the Palace and airdocks."

"How so?"

"You'll find out when you get there," Setsuna replied, mysteriously.

00000

The Lambda-class shuttle _Enterprise_ accelerated up through Earth's atmosphere, into space, and continued to accelerate as the pilot caught up to the rebel Imperator in orbit. "Republic Approach, this is _Enterprise_, requesting permission to dock."

"Enterprise, Republic; _cleared to dock, main hangar bay._"

"Affirmative, _Republic_. Advise _Republic_ Actual that the Ambassador is onboard, and requests his presence."

"Enterprise_, uh…roger; will advise _Republic _Actual. _Republic _out._"

The shuttle closed on the mile-long white dagger, orbiting placidly over the South Pacific, orienting itself so the hangar bay of the Imperator was "above" the dorsal fin of the shuttle. "Enterprise Republic_; call the ball._"

"Lambda ball," the pilot replied, as his eyes caught the visual landing aids. "Retract wings, deploy landing gear." The outer wings of the shuttle rose from the 120 degree deployed position to vertical, as the shuttle neared the hangar. The landing legs deployed as the shuttle was meters from the atmospheric containment barrier.

With a subtle groan, the shuttle settled on to its main gear. Admiral Gerrod stood just inside the foul line, as the nose mounted ramp lowered. Ranma walked down, his Jedi robes whispering against the non-skid material of the personnel ramp. "General," the former Republic Navy admiral said cordially, "welcome aboard the _Republic_."

"Thank you, Gerrod," Ranma replied, just as cordially. "I'd like you to accompany me to the lunar airdocks, and the fleet's new home port."

On the bridge of the Imperator, Ranma stood near the viewports, looking out over the dorsal hull and keel of the mile-long warship. "A very impressive vessel, Admiral," Ranma said. "Makes the Victories and Aggravators we had during the Clone Wars look like they were one step from the being broken up for scrap."

"That it does, General," Gerrod replied.

"Set course for Luna. Are the navigational computers compatible with the Terran coordinate system?"

"Coordinates are coordinates, General," the crusty Admiral replied. "The computers'll crunch on them, and get us to where we need to go."

Ranma smiled. "Then take us out of orbit, Admiral." Commands were relayed to the crew pit, and the three massive sublight engines fired. The bow of the _Republic_ came about, and pointed straight at Earth's companion, her fighters continuing their close CAP of the warship like mosquitoes around a water buffalo.

In significantly less time than it took the Apollo missions to traverse the 385 thousand kilometers to the Moon, the _Republic_ entered equatorial orbit around the pockmarked satellite. "Admiral," Ranma said, "I have the bridge."

Gerrod nodded. "You have the bridge, General. Especially since you know where we're going."

The Jedi Master strode into the middle of the bridge over the crew pit. "Helm, bring us to 43 degrees south by 11 degrees west. You'll be over the central massif of Tycho Crater."

Lt. Merrick punched in the coordinates. "Altitude, General?"

"19 kilometers," Ranma replied. "Make sure thrusters hold station. You'll have further instructions at that altitude. Communications?" The ship began moving again, slower this time, descending and rotating so that the Moon's surface was relative to the deck plates of the bridge.

"Aye, General?"

"Is your equipment capable of lightspeed burst communications?"

"Aye, sir; laser, lightspeed radio, signal lamp, semaphore."

"Very good," Ranma replied, as he walked over towards the communications console. He keyed in a cryptic sequence. "When we reach altitude, transmit this message by secure laser. You'll be expecting a response from someone named 'Harry'. And have Fighter Ops recall the CAP."

"Aye sir."

"19 kilometers, General," Lt. Merrick reported.

"Bring us over the secondary massif, Mr. Merrick, same altitude. It's at bearing 316 degrees, five thousand meters. Communications: transmit message."

The ship shifted slightly, moving just over three ship lengths over the secondary massif. "General, I'm getting a reply," Chief Solon reported from his console.

"**Greetings, General Lim**," a voice announced over the bridge's speakers. "**Just a few moments while I realign the AE-35 unit.**"

"Hello Harry," Ranma replied. "You know there, is no AE-35 unit on the Moon."

"**You are correct, General. There hasn't been a living soul here in over 30 thousand years. It gets boring after about the first 20 minutes after planetary communications have shut down. I've been busy scanning terrestrial broadcasts to keep myself occupied. Airdock doors opening. Prepare for docking sequence. The operating system of your vessel is incompatible with my software. Manual docking will be required.**" The massif below the ship slid to the side effortlessly, as though it were the day it had been installed.

"Take us in, Mr. Merrick," Ranma ordered.

The ship began moving again, and sweat began rolling off the helmsman as he began maneuvering the massive warship through the perfectly circular and smooth tube. "**Maglev system currently offline, General**," Harry reported, as the ship plunged into the depths of the Moon. "**It should be up in three or four days. Atmospheric containment shields at full power, life support at full power. You are five minutes from the central facility.**"

"How come the maglev is down," Gerrod asked. "And why the vague reply?"

"**Corruption in that location of my central core, Admiral. I'm in the process of rebuilding the data, based on original specifications in my archives. As for the vague answer, Serenity never did like it when I replied with exact timelines.**"

The ship plunged through a magnetic containment field. "Admiral, I'm reading standard atmospheric pressure and content around the ship," an engineer reported. "We are inside the airdocks."

"Bring us to Slip 1," Ranma said. "Harry, standby for docking support for Slip 1—tractor beams and catwalks only." The ship slid into the docking area, and tractor beams caught the dagger-shaped hull. Floodlights in the vicinity of the dock lit up, bathing the warship in artificial light for the first time since she was commissioned.

"**Vessel is docked, General. You may secure propulsion. Catwalks extending.**"

"Engines disengaged," Lt. Merrick stated. "Catwalks in place at all airlocks."

Turning to Admiral Gerrod, Ranma gave the Rebel commander a broad smile. "Welcome to your new home port, Gerrod."

"Thank you, General. As soon as we leave, we'll transmit coordinates and access codes on a secure frequency to the rest of the fleet. Harry," Gerrod asked, "how can we make your operating system compatible with ours?"

"**I would need access to your computer system, and make adjustments to my own, based on the results. I can also embed into your IFF systems a tracer that would allow only Earth Defense Force ships access to this facility, and unauthorized vessels would be targeted for capture or destruction. As a precaution for such a thing, 'Mad Queen' Serenity the Third saw to it that the crater mounted heavy particle cannons along the interior of the rim, as well as lighter particle and laser cannons as well as torpedo launchers along the central massif. I can have those systems online by the end of the week.**"

"And the civilian ships in the fleet, Gerrod," Ranma asked.

"Those vessels are based on a similar operating system, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. And I like the idea of embedding an IFF tag in our ships. Especially since the Imperial fleet has identical ships."

"**Then I shall make it so,**" Harry said. "**For now, Admiral, the facilities of the Palace are at your crew's disposal. I would find it a most stimulating experience for your crew to enjoy shore leave.**"

"General, with your permission," Gerrod asked.

"It's your ship, Admiral, and, right now, your recreation center. All I ask is that my shuttle be prepared for departure."

"Of course, General."

00000  
**THE PENTAGON**  
Arlington, VA

In a large, dark, smoke-filled conference room in the Pentagon, headquarters of the American Department of Defense, a veritable galaxy of braids and stars, in the form of generals and admirals from the superpowers and allies, sat around conference table, watching the same videos that the fighter crews in Houston. "While these fighters are impressive, we need to develop our own domestically produced ships," the chairman of the American Joint Chiefs stated as the lights came up.

"Our scientific knowledge has just been expanded ten-fold with the technical readouts we've been getting from General Gerrod," a civilian wearing a Savile Row suit said. "The use of fusion as an aviation powerplant has revolutionary potential for both military and civilian aerospace research. As well as "

"And it could be the silver bullet we've been looking for to lessen our planet's dependence on oil," another civilian, wearing a suit not from Savile Row, added.

"There are some innovative designs that were developed just prior and during World War Two," a Royal Air Force general stated. "Lockheed's L-133 was futuristic thinking for the late 1930's. And I believe Gloster, Supermarine and De Havilland were all working on some equally futuristic designs"

"_Ja_," replied his Bundesluft counterpart. "Perhaps Panavia should consider some of the designs Messerschmitt, Heinkel and Junkers had on their drawing boards, or even went into limited production."

"Frankly," an American Admiral said, "I'd like to get my hands on a fleet of those 'X-wing' fighters for my carriers. We wouldn't need catapults or arresting gear any more with that hover capability. Hell, I could even base them on the Tarawas and give the Marines some real air support, instead of relying on Harriers and SeaCobras."

"Some of these systems would be perfect for tanks and IFVs," an Army general added. "With those anti-gravity systems, terrain as a defense would become a thing of the past. No more vulnerable landing craft or transport weighed down by a single tank, they could self-deploy to the combat zone…" The meeting quickly degenerated into the generals and admirals developing their particular wish lists, like children putting together their Christmas lists for Santa.


	12. Chapter 11

**Near Earth-Moon LaGrange Point 5**

A pair of ARC-170s on a training flight swung through space between Earth and Luna, sensors looking for anything out of the ordinary. "Red 1, Jolly 6. I've got a suspicious silhouette on the scope," Roy's backseater, LCDR Cunningham called over the radio.

"_Jolly 6, Rrred One. What does the computerrr say it is?_"

"Wait one, Red One." She ran the silhouette through the targeting computer. "Red One, Jolly 6; Computer's saying it's an Imperial probe droid."

"_You arrre clearrred weapons hot, Jolly 6_."

"Roger, weapons hot," she confirmed. "Roy, we're cleared to attack."

"Roger," the blonde commander of VFA-103 replied, as he swung the three-man fighter around in a tight arc. "S-foils?"

"Locked in attack position," Cunningham confirmed, as Roy started running through the attack checklist.

"Blasters?"

"Charged and online. Set for single fire."

"Shields?"

"On, double front."

A small square targeting reticule appeared on Roy's head's up display. "Target in sight. Guns, guns, guns," he called, squeezing the trigger. Ruby red bolts of energy spat from the fighter's wingtip mounted cannons.

As soon as the probe's sensors detected the inbound threat, it armed its self-destruct package, and fired off one last report towards Alpha Centauri. It exploded before the bolts of energy from Roy's fighter even came close to hitting it.

"_Good job, Jolly Six_," Wing Commander M'ret said. "_Forrrm on my wing, and we'll head home._"

The naval intelligence officer looked at the sudden loss of data coming from the Sol system. "Admiral, we've lost our last probe droid in the Terran star system," he reported to the Admiral.

* * *

Criofan walked over to the intelligence officer's display. Some of his compatriots, like Admiral Ozzel, were too self-absorbed in their rank and position. There were times Criofan wondered how that buffoon even rated command of the _Executor_, let alone his rank. Even though Criofan could be a cold-hearted son of a bitch, there were times he preferred to look at the data with his own eyes. "This should prove to be interesting…Lt. Aubrey!"

"Yes Admiral," his flag lieutenant replied.

"Have Fleet Operations put together a small task group—say three or four Star Destroyers. As soon as it is assembled, I'll transmit their orders."

"Yes sir."

00000

Ranma and Setsuna were walking through Central Park, enjoying the night air, alone. Makoto had come to visit her brother, over summer recess, and got tagged for babysitting duty with the twins. Behind the couple was their plainclothes security force, just far enough away to be unobtrusive, but close enough to react. It had been a pleasant evening for the couple.

Ranma noticed two people coming towards them, backlit by a streetlight. "We meet again, Tarrrquin, for the last time," Bastet growled, as she and Darth Kuno came at them, lightsaber hilts at the ready.

"Then let us end this, Bastet. One of us will not survive this fight," he replied, retrieving his own lightsaber from within his robes.

Kuno looked at Setsuna. "Should you prove victorious, I would date with thee, my viridian-tressed goddess," he said, the lust clearly visible in his eyes.

"I would rather commit seppuku than let you touch me," Setsuna replied, as her dress shifted into her Senshi uniform, the Time Key appearing in her hands.

The two Sith charged Ranma and his wife, igniting their lightsabers as they closed the distance. The two bodyguards didn't have time to react before the first crash of lightsaber against lightsaber and Time Key, its inherent magic protecting it from the blade of focused energy. Setsuna wielded the magical artifact like a quarterstaff, parrying Kuno's attempts to get through her guard, while cracking the insane Sith apprentice in the knees, wrists, elbows, and head. Some of the hits were effective; some weren't because of Kuno's cybernetic replacements.

Ranma, however, was driving his former apprentice back, with a flurry of attacks. Forms he'd learned in his youth, both on Coruscant and in Japan, flowed through his arms, punctuated by occasional use of Musabetsu Kakutou kicks and punches. "You should never have sided with Palpatine, Bastet," he said. "The power of the Dark Side has blinded you to everything I ever taught you."

"I think not," she growled in response. "The Darrrk Side flows within me, sings to me."

"Then its song is as false as a Millie Vanillie single," Ranma countered. The momentary confusion on the Catian's face was evident, as she tried to process what the pigtailed Jedi Master said.

Drawn in by the coronal discharges of energy, two NYPD mounted officers came galloping up. "The Jedi have it under control," one of their guards said. "They were attacked, and are defending themselves." The cops sat there, watching a Jedi and Senshi fight for their lives.

Every strike Kuno attempted with his lightsaber failed to get through Setsuna's defenses. The magical protection inherent in the Time Key was slowly weakening with each blow of the insane Sith apprentice's lightsaber, and it showed. There was carbon scoring all along the shaft of the magical artifact. _Time to end this, before I lose the Time Key_, she said to herself. _And Tarquin once showed me that someone trained in the Force can deflect even a Dead Scream._ With a speed and power borne of desperation, Pluto swept Kuno's feet out from under him. As Kuno slammed on to the concrete sidewalk, she jammed the staff into his neck, crushing his windpipe, killing him. The body immolated itself as the energies of the Dark Side were released; the blast knocking the Senshi of Time back, ass over tea kettle.

Bast was distracted by the death of her currently only apprentice. Kuno had killed her other apprentice during a spar, thinking that he was the foul sorcerer who'd imprisoned his fanged goddess. Ranma took advantage of her distraction to press his aggressive defense. With a flying kick, he knocked the Catian Sith lord back. As she charged her pigtailed Master, she brought her lightsaber in for a low slash.

Ranma jumped over the attack, and brought his lightsaber down in a shallow arc. The Jedi Master felt a slight resistance as the energy blade bit into Bastet's neck. The Catian's body slumped to the ground, lifeless; her head landed a few meters away, the look of shock still evident on her face. Closing down his blade, Ranma walked over to Setsuna, and helped his wife back up.

"Are you alright," she asked, noting the pain on her husband's face. "I know you still harbored hopes to turn her back to the Light."

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he replied, neutrally, "after a few stiff drinks. Let's go get blitzed."

00000

Receiving the order from the _Republic_, the fleet began to move from its hiding place in close orbit around Chara XIII. Half of the corvette force pulled out of orbit first, and arrayed itself around the star system. They were followed by ten of the Dreadnoughts, then the civilian ships with the Imperators. Flanking the formation were the Vicstars, with the rear guarded by the remaining Dreadnoughts and corvettes. The ships began their run up to lightspeed, and disappeared in flickers of pseudomotion.

As the rebel fleet cruised through hyperspace, a small detachment of three Star Destroyers—one Imperator, the _Black Prince_; and two Victories, the _Ramilles_ and _Praetor_—left orbit around the Imperial base, and jumped to lightspeed.

00000

**MCAS EL TORO**  
Lake Forest, California

Marine Corps Captain Steven Hiller walked into squadron ready room of VMF/A-555, and noted that everyone was busy watching CNN. "I think we can find something better to do with our time," he said.

"Hey, you're here," Jimmy said, getting up. "How was leave?"

"Pretty damn good," Hiller replied, as they walked over to the lockers. There was an envelope sticking out of Hiller's locker. "Looks like the mail still works. Oh man, NASA…I can't open it. You mind reading it."

Raven took the envelope. "Wuss," he said, as he slit open the envelope. "'To Captain Steven Hiller,' wuss, 'we regret to inform you that, although you have an excellent service record…' Oh man, I'm sorry Steve. Wait a second… 'We are, however, forwarding your application to Headquarters, Earth Defense Force with our endorsement for your entry into the space-superiority fighter program.'"

"Looks like I'm still going into space after all," Hiller said. "And you thought marrying Jasmine would have been detrimental to my career. Hot damn! "

"Congratulations, man. Hell, if I knew marrying a stripper would be good for me, I'd do it in a minute," Raven said. "Hey guys! Steve-o's going to the EDF!"


	13. Chapter 12

**CAVALIER EFB**  
Cavalier, ND

Sitting in a bunker under the large pyramid-shaped phased array radar, a technician noted two distinct sets of radar returns from the space-tracking radar. Originally, Cavalier and its radar belonged to the Air Force, as part of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. However, with the establishment of the Earth Defense Force, most ICBMs, their associated early warning sites, and personnel were transferred over as for space defense, complete with upgrades from the Republic forces. "Captain," the former Air Force tech sergeant, still wearing his USAF uniform, called to the duty officer. "I've got incoming returns: one on a bearing of 215 degrees by 270 degrees. The other is at 45 degrees by 50 degrees."

The duty officer, a former Republic Army air-defense artillery company commander, peered over the sergeant's shoulder, and read the computer screen. "The _Harder_ and _Tang_ are in the lunar airdocks. The _Republic_ is in close orbit near Japan.

"Have you queried their IFFs?"

"The one coming in at bearing 215 is reporting Republic codes. The other group has not replied, sir. The latter return is firming up into only three contacts. The former group has resolved into 77 ships, Captain."

_Three contacts, unknown IFF. Lady Pluto's charts didn't show any other spacefaring races near Terra. Closest one would have been just over three parsecs out, around 40 Eridani._ "Standby alert. Get me EDF Headquarters." Klaxons began sounding throughout the bunker, while yellow beacons began rotating. Were they go to full alert, generators would automatically make the facility self-sufficient, dimming the overhead lights to blue as a power conservation measure. Cavalier had one of the lowest priorities in the EDF for conversion to fusion power, making it independent of the state power grid.

"Captain, I have EDF Headquarters, Cheyenne Mountain, on the line," the communications technician called. The duty officer picked up the anachronistic, in his eyes, handset.

"_Captain, this is General Hammond. Go ahead._"

"General, Captain Antares, duty officer at Cavalier. We've detected multiple inbound tracks, sir; all but three with Republic ident codes. They're still far enough away that we're unable to get an accurate radar image…"

"Captain," another radar tech called from her station, "I've got another return reported from Thule EFB, 12th Space Wing. They're confirming three contacts, sir."

"RAF Flyingdales has the contacts as well, Captain," a third tech called.

"Radar imagery is firming up, sir. Two contacts approximately .9 kilometers…third contact 1.6 kilometers."

Antares looked at the computer screen in front of him, while holding the phone's handset against his chest. Shaking his head, he spoke into the handset. "General Hammond, we have three Imperial Star Destroyers approaching Terra. It appears to be two Victory-class and one Imperator-class vessels. I recommend a planetary alert, and notify the incoming Allied vessels to prepare to defend themselves."

"_Recommendation noted and logged, Captain…Standby._" General Hammond terminated the conversation. Within moments of Captain Antares hanging the phone up, the DEFCON, Defense Condition, status board went from 4 to 2.

"_Planetary alert. This is not a drill. Planetary alert. This is not a drill,_" a synthesized female voice ordered over the station's loudspeakers.

"We're not ready," Antares muttered, as he slumped into his chair. "May the Force be with us."

**EFS _Republic_**  
Low Earth Orbit, currently over the Pacific

"Admiral on the bridge," a sentry called, as Admiral Gerrod walked onto the newly rechristened Star Destroyer. Red alert beacons were flashing on the bridge, as the muted alert klaxon sounded. Of course, in other parts of the ship, it was much louder.

"Status report," he barked.

"Sir, three contacts were initially detected by Cavalier radar station. Captain Antares placed his station on standby alert, and contacted General Hammond at Cheyenne Mountain. While briefing the General, additional radar sites picked up the bogies, and identified them. General Hammond issued a planetary alert, including local orbital space."

"Very well then. What have we got coming in?"

"Two Victories and an Imperator. Ident codes are firming up as we speak, sir." The Admiral's aide motioned to the holographic projection. "Our fleet has arrived in system from Chara. The _Tang_ and _Harder_ are recalling their personnel from shore leave within the Palace complex. Their captains state it will take about 10 minutes to clear Airdock."

"ETA to intercept?"

"6 minutes, Admiral." A junior officer came running up with a sheet of flimsy. "Identity confirmed on the three inbound bogies, Admiral. The _Black Prince_, escorted by the _Ramilles_ and the _Praetor_."

"Captain," Gerrod called, "take us out of orbit. Order all personnel to their battlestations, and launch the snubfighters.

"Has General Lim been appraised?"

"I believe so, Admiral, by General Hammond."

"Notify Earth Force Headquarters anyway. Make sure that General Lim gets confirmation of this probe."

"Aye sir."

**ISD _Serenity Dominant_**

"Commodore, long range sensors have picked up three Imperial warships, on a course for Terra."

"Message from Admiral Gerrod, Commodore, ordering all Terra orbiting ships to battlestations. Planetary alert has been issued by Earth Force Headquarters."

"Commodore, I have the _Republic_ on sensors. She's moving out of Terra's sensor shadow, coming from low orbit."

Commodore Yonaton Archer looked at the holographic situation table in front of him, and planned his next moves. "Communications—signal the fleet: 'Battlestations'. Inform all Star Destroyers to form up on us; all other ships are to continue in convoy to Saturn and take concealed positions within that planet's ring structure.

"CAG—bring the wing to full readiness, standby alert. Helm—plot an intercept course, and transmit to the Star Destroyers on a coded frequency. Flank speed to the target." The orders issued, the bridge crew of the _Serenity Dominant_ snapped to work, with the quiet efficiency that made this former crew of the Republic Star Destroyer _Aggravator_ the scourge of Separatist naval forces in the Clone Wars. The deck plates of the bridge vibrated as blast doors throughout the mile-long warship slammed shut. Icons hovering in midair on the holo-table showed the civilian ships with their Dreadnought and corvette escort peel away from the 19 remaining Star Destroyers.

"Commodore, all Star Destroyers are in formation. Captain Neyrise of the _Valiant_ wishes us good hunting."

"Fighter wings standing by on all Star Destroyers, Commodore."

"Course plotted, laid in, and transmitted to the formation, Commodore.'

"Engage." The three main and four secondary nozzles of the _Serenity Dominant_ lit up, and began propelling the massive ship toward her destiny. Around her, in a three dimensional wedge formation, the remaining two Imperators and 16 Vicstars kept close tab on their current flagship.

**Earth Defense Force Headquarters**  
Teaneck Armory, Teaneck NJ

The _Enterprise_ touched down on the drill field in front of the old New Jersey Army National Guard armory, only a few minutes flight from New York City. Ranma walked down the ramp and up the front steps into the Depression-era building sitting on the Teaneck/Bergenfield border. Soldiers quickly began covering the Lambda-class shuttle with sensor disruptive camouflage netting. "What's the situation," the pigtailed Jedi Master said as he walked onto the former drill floor, turned command center. Modern workstations sat next to antique steel desks, as power and data cables snaked towards one of the two roll up doors in the back of the drill floor, to the tactical fusion generators and antenna farm set up in the motor pool yard.

The watch officer motioned the Earth Force commander to the holo-table. "Sir, Cavalier Station identified multiple inbound contacts; all but three resolved themselves into our fleet coming in from Chara. The remaining three contacts have resolved themselves into three Imperial Star Destroyers; the _Black Prince_, an Imperator; the _Praetor_ and _Ramilles_; both Victory-class ships. They are on an inbound vector for Earth.

"The _Republic_ is now four minutes out from interception. Admiral Gerrod feels that this is merely a probe by the Imperials, to regain lost intelligence after Commander Fokker destroyed a probe droid in L5 space. Commodore Archer has ordered the fleet to make for Saturn, and take concealed positions in that planet's ring system whilst taking the remaining Star Destroyers at flank speed to intercept the Imperials as well. They are now ten minutes from interception.

"The _Tang_ and _Harder_ were on liberty in the airdocks, and are making flank speed to rendezvous with the _Republic_. General Hammond ordered a planetary alert; all ICBM sites are on full alert, standing by for launch codes; all terrestrial based fighter units are on five minute alert, reserve units are coming up to alert status as their pilots report in. The heads of state and Secretary General are currently enroute to secure locations. The NASA space shuttle _Discovery_ is evacuating the International Space Station, aborting her resupply mission. She'll be touching down at McGuire EFB."

The icon indicating the _Republic_ was closing on the three Imperial warships. Ranma looked at the display, as he sat down in an old Government Services Administration office chair, a holdover from the Armory's days belonging to the under funded and equipped National Guard. "We certainly have the numbers, so unlike during the early days of the Clone Wars. I think the will Force be with us."

**Imperial Star Destroyer _Black Prince_**

The sensor technician looked up from his display, and called his superior over. Who in turn looked up at the ship's captain. "Captain, long range sensors have picked up inbound Star Destroyers."

Captain Caradoc halted his pacing and looked down in the crew pit. "What do you mean 'inbound Star Destroyers'?"

"Twenty Destroyers, Captain. Most are older Victory-class, but sensor returns indicate at least four Imperator-class. The first is less than five standard minutes from interception. We're picking up only one Imperial transponder code—the _Republic_."

"Signal _Ramilles_ and _Praetor_. They're to defend this ship to the last. Bring us to battlestations, and prepare to launch TIE fighters."

"Message transmitted, Captain. Captains Selen and Bran'dhu acknowledge the order, sir." The formation changed to an inverted Vee, with the two older Star Destroyers taking point. TIE fighters began launching from the bellies of the Imperial warships.

* * *

"Admiral Gerrod, the Imperials are entering turbolaser range."

"Sensors are picking up TIE fighters, Admiral."

"Launch all fighters; shields to maximum. Bring starboard batteries to bear." The _Republic_ turned ninety degrees to the Imperials vector of travel, bringing half her armament to bear on the three Imperial warships. From within her primary hangar deck, her snubfighters, half Clone War relic ARC-170s and half modern Y-Wing fighters, deployed, to meet the incoming onslaught of two hundred TIEs.

"Admiral, we have a targeting solution on the _Ramilles_; heavy turbolasers only."

"Commence fire." Located near the after command terrace, ten of the _Republic_'s heavy turbolasers began firing on the approaching Imperial ships. Ruby red bolts of coherent energy punched through the _Ramilles_' shields, tearing great chunks out of her superstructure. Smaller numbers of verdant green bolts from the _Black Prince_'s heavy batteries replied, slamming into the _Republic_'s shields. Additional bolts from the Imperial's escorts began peppering the current flagship of Earth Force.

"Admiral, starboard shields are down 40."

"Begin a starboard roll; fire as batteries bear on targets. How are our fighters doing?"

"We're down to half-strength, Admiral," the ship's CAG replied, as space began to show the effects of the current orders. Batteries along the dorsal keel and portside began firing as they were brought to bear on the Imperial warships. The _Tang_ and _Harder_ streaked past the command tower of the _Republic_, their lasers firing, like gnats attacking an elephant.

"ETA of Commodore Archer's section?"

"Five minutes, Admiral."

"Very well then, continue the..." Admiral Gerrod's order was interrupted by the ship shaking violently, throwing anyone standing down to the deck. "Damage report," he shouted, as the _Republic_'s emergency lights snapped on.

"Forward shields pierced, Admiral; emergency power cell hit. The ship is currently in a two axis spin; attempting to stabilize."

"Damnit…continue firing. As soon as Commodore Archer arrives, we're withdrawing." The forward viewports showed the three dagger-like ships of the Imperial group, aimed right for the very heart of the _Republic_. Short lived fireballs blossomed in the void, as Imperial and Rebel fighters were destroyed in the swirling furball between the four Star Destroyers.

"Admiral; incoming fighters," the defense coordinator shouted from the crew pit.

"From where, Commander?"

"From astern, sir; IFF indicates friendlies," she replied, the relief evident in her voice. ARC-170s and Y-Wings from the rest of the Rebel Star Destroyers swept past the _Republic_'s bridge.

"Message from the _Serenity Dominant_, Admiral: '_Looks like you could use a little help. Commodore Archer_.' Message from the _Harder_, Admiral. They state that they've taken a significant hit, and need to shut down the main reactor for repairs."

"Blast it. Signal Commodore Archer to detail a Vicstar to watch over them while they make emergency repairs.

Aboard the _Black Prince_, Caradoc looked at the change in tactical situation. Three additional Imperator-class Star Destroyers led a formation of Vicstars towards the _Republic_'s position, and were just entering turbolaser range. From a position of strength, the Imperials moved to one of weakness, with the Rebels suddenly gaining a six to one advantage in snubfighters, albeit primarily with obsolete fighters, and in capital warships. "Communications signal the _Ramilles_ and _Praetor_: 'Recall all fighters and return to base.' Fighter Control, recall our TIEs immediately. Navigation, begin plotting a return course to base. Once you have the calculations, transmit them to our escorts. Helm, as soon as you have the coordinates, make the jump to hyperspace." Their only success had been crippling the _Harder_ and damaging the _Republic_.

The TIE fighters began breaking off combat with the Rebel fighters, and used their superior speed to return to their carriers. As soon as the last few were pulled into the hangar bays, the armored shutters closed and the massive ships began their run up to lightspeed. With the barest flicker of pseudomotion, they leapt into hyperspace.

00000

_Serenity Dominant_ pulled along side the battered _Republic_; the flagship's armor covered with carbon scoring, where volleys from the Imperial ships penetrated her shields. A shuttle left the docking bay and headed to the flagship. Commodore Archer was met in the hangar by Admiral Gerrod. "Congratulations, Admiral," the deputy fleet commander said, "on a great victory."

"Commodore, are you sure you still aren't an Imperial?" Gerrod asked, jokingly. "That was no battle. That was a minor engagement, with a reconnaissance force. Admiral Criofan will be returning with a much larger force, possibly his entire force.

"Your orders, Commodore, are to recall the support fleet and their escorts, and have them dock in the Royal airdocks on Luna. Flag Lieutenant Rein will provide you with the coordinates. I want all but six task groups docked there as well. The six groups will patrol out to two light-years, but will not engage the enemy, unless there is a good chance at victory. We don't have the unlimited resources that the Empire has. Understood?" Commodore Archer nodded. "Very good. Now then, get some rest, and tomorrow, we'll begin a detailed scan of the Sol System and uncover what potential strategic resources are in the system."

"Admiral, I will also check in with General Lim, and let him know that the fleet has arrived."

Gerrod nodded, as he turned to return to bridge. He paused, and faced the Commodore. "And Yonaton, welcome to Earth Force."


	14. Chapter 13

**EarthForce Headquarters  
**Lunar Royal Palace  
Located under Tycho Crater

In the past several months since the arrival of the civilians, the grounds of the former seat of government for the Solar System had taken a new life. Children of all species were playing in the courtyards, lovers walked hand in hand (or other appropriate appendage), while merchants from Earth hawked their wares. Tibanna gas was found within the stormy skies of Jupiter and Saturn, and embryonic mining stations had sprung up on the two gas giants. Ore processing stations were being built in the asteroid field, between Mars and Jupiter. And the superstructures of eight Golan-II defense stations orbited between the Earth and the Moon, under construction. A certain odango-atama had moved out of her parents' house in Juuban, and into the royal apartments. But, as the more things change, the more they stay the same. "Give me back my manga, meatball head!"

"Don't be such a meanie Rei, I haven't read this one yet," Usagi whined.

In another part of the Palace, Ranma sat reviewing the latest intelligence reports. "Well," he said, "It looks like the Empire's been quietly building their forces." He slid the image flimsies to Admiral Gerrod.

"If you call a 19 kilometer long Super-class Star Destroyer 'quiet'," the Admiral replied with a dry chuckle. "It's a shame we couldn't get better imagery of the surface. I'd love to see what kind of forces Criofan's got arrayed on the surface."

"A couple of legions of stormtroopers at least," Ranma replied. "Besides what the _Revenge_ and smaller Star Destroyers can carry, there is what the few Acclamators in that one image can carry. And that's not counting the regular Army."

"Sithspawn," Gerrod muttered. "So we're basically out numbered, and out gunned."

"Just like in the early days of the Clone Wars," Ranma replied.

The intercom chimed. Apparently, some enterprising engineer discovered _Star Trek_, and decided to emulate the intercom whistle off the fictional USS _Enterprise_. "_General, I have General Hammond on the line._"

"Put him through, Lieutenant." There was a momentary crackle of static, and the commander of SGC appeared hovering over the desk. "General Hammond, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"_General, I just wanted to let you know that we've completed computer testing on the _Prometheus_, and she'll be launched from Area 51 for her shakedown cruise. We'd appreciate an escort, just in case the Empire gets squirrelly._"

"Certainly General. Admiral Gerrod, we can detach a few ships for Earth's first interstellar-capable starship?"

"I think I can find a few ships for an escort. General Hammond, how far are you planning on going?"

The hologram hovering over Ranma's desk turned to face the commander of the EDF. "_No farther than Pluto, Admiral. We want conduct a shakedown of the ship's systems before we test out the hyperdrive. And if the systems checkout, we'll be running the hyperdrive up to jump to Barnard's Star in two weeks._"

Gerrod nodded. "I'll have a pair of Dreadnaughts and a pair of corvettes standing by in orbit over Nevada."

"_Thank you, Admiral. The security is most appreciated._"

Another voice could be heard, out of range of the holo transmitter, but within audio pickup range. "_You know General; I still think we should have called her the _Enterprise. _After all, it is the name of NASA's first space shuttle._"

"_Jack, the decision was made by the Pentagon months ago. Maybe one of her sisters will get the name,_" General Hammond said, to the officer out of view. "_General, we'd like the escorts over Nevada at 1200 hours, UCT. The _Prometheus _will be launching at 1400 hours, UCT._"

Gerrod hid a smile, while Ranma answered. "You'll have your ships, General. EarthForce CINC, out." The Jedi terminated the connection with Cheyenne Mountain. "When SGC is ready to test their hyperdrive, we'll provide a larger escort."

"What are you thinking, General?"

"Oh, maybe six to eight Star Destroyers and an equal number of Dreadnaughts and corvettes. I doubt Criofan would be stupid enough to attack us within our own solar system, but once we break the Kupier Belt, and enter interstellar space, all bets are off."

"Of course, Ranma. Now, I have a question about these deployments around Sol…" And with that, Ranma and Admiral Gerrod got down to business running the fleet.

000000  
**Low Earth Orbit  
**Over Nevada  
1130hrs UCT

The four ships promised by Ranma and Admiral Gerrod pulled into a station-keeping orbit over Area 51. On the bridge of the EFS _Hiryu_, Captain Yoshino stood from his command chair. "Status," he called.

"Sir, we have just entered station keeping over the assigned coordinates," the helmsman reported.

"Threat board is clear, Captain. The _Stingray_'s taken position forward, the _Scorpion_'s at our 7 o'clock, relative, and the _Valiant_'s off our starboard side." The tactical officer looked back at his board. "I also have contacts within the atmosphere. ARC-170s out of Edwards; looks like they're on training flights."

"Very good. Communications, signal Dreamland Control. Advise them we are in position to escort the _Prometheus_. Also advice the _Scorpion_ and _Stingray_ to descend and take flanking positions as she ascends to space."

"Aye, sir."

In a concealed drydock below the dry lake that based Area 51, sat Earth's first interstellar starship. Built on a platform of liberated technology, the _Prometheus_ was supposed to be like stealing fire from the gods. But then the Rebels arrived, and gifted the Earth with the wonders of their technology. The cranky Earth-designed hyperdrive was replaced by a spare one designed by Kuat Drive Yards, and much more user-friendly to operate; her sublight propulsion would allow her to keep up with just about any of the former heavy Imperial warships. Weapons were changed over from modified conventional naval artillery to quad lasers, concussion missile batteries, and turbolaser turrets.

The ship itself hadn't changed in design, but some things never change. Already the designs for her sisters, the _Daedalus_ and _Odyssey_, were changing to meet the newer technologies available.

Sitting in the center seat of the bridge, Colonel Jack O'Neill was listening to the predeparture litany over the intercom. "Are we ready yet?"

"Yes sir. Fusion reactors online. We have full power, sir."

"Clear signal along the departure corridor; LA Center has rerouted all traffic out of our departure vector. Area 51 Departure confirms our clearance; the _Scorpion_ and _Stingray_ are hovering at 10 thousand."

"It's about time. Helm, take us up."

"Yes sir." The helmsman advanced the throttles of Earth's first space-borne battlecruiser, and the ship's repulsorlift engines fought against gravity. For a few moments, it seemed that gravity would win, but the advanced technology provided by the Rebels overcame that obstacle. The _Prometheus_ floated silently out of her underground hangar, and into a climb, the two corvettes assigned to shepherd her into space taking flanking positions. The American starship slipped quietly into orbit, with no hiccups, bugs, or other nasty surprises. "Orbit achieved," 1Lt. Wegner said, as the remaining EF ships slipped into formation.

"Very good. Lieutenant, plot a course to the Kupier Belt Proving Grounds. Communications; transmit our course to the _Hiryu_."

"Course laid in sir," Wegner replied.

"Message from the _Hiryu_ sir. 'We'll see if your ship will do as advertised.'"

"Nice of them to care," Jack muttered. "Engines ahead, two thirds."

00000

Two weeks of extensive systems shakedown and impromptu wargames proved that the design and additions were quite valid. Even the squadron of Earth-built X-wings carried on the _Prometheus_ was extensively tested in the depths of space that marked the edge of the Sol system—with one exception.

"Colonel," Captain Jessica Rand called, "I'm receiving a signal on an unidentified FTL channel. The translator program can't make heads or tails of the language; but it does sound urgent."

That piqued Jack's interest. He stood and walked over to the station. "Could be a stray signal out here on the far end of nowhere. Have you contacted one of our escorts?"

"Yes sir. They can't make heads or tails of it either."

"Let's hear it."

"Yes sir." The audio speakers gave a quiet _whoosh_, and then filled melodic, if occasionally harsh tone.

"Vic?"

The protocol droid assigned to SGC to make First Contact missions easier tilted his head. "Sir," V-3PO replied in a prissy, British accent, "I am fluent in over six million forms of communication. This is a language that is not in my databanks."

"Great," Jack drawled, as he returned to the center seat. "Who's on Blackbird duty?"

"Captain Steven Hiller, sir," LTC Quest, the ship's CAG, replied.

"Jessica, do we have an origin for this signal?"

"We do, Colonel: 40 Eridani." She pulled up the starcharts. "It's a trinary star system 16 light-years from Earth; three planets, with one possible life sustaining planet detected by long-range sensor sweep from EFS _Nemesis_. No Stargate; therefore never visited by SGC."

"Alright then. Looks like it's inhabited then. And possibly under attack. Launch the Blackbird."

"Yes sir." She hit the intercom. "Portside flight deck, prepare for Blackbird launch."

Down in the portside ready room, one of the aircraft handlers stuck his head inside. "Captain Hiller? You've got a mission."

"Gotcha," he replied, as he stretched and grabbed his flight gear, before heading to his ship. The Blackbird was an interesting concept, driven by the need for information on a battlefield, and good old fashioned human ingenuity. Some bright engineer at Lockheed's Skunk Works got the idea to mate an X-wing fuselage with only two short wings on a 120 degree arc off the centerline. Four standard Incom fusial thrust engines were buried at the wing root, the inlets and exhausts for the engines had sensor baffles, to keep their sensor signature small. But what really set the Blackbird apart was her hull. Every square inch of hull was carbon fiber panel, making her very stealthy; almost invisible to even the Imperial-grade sensors of the EarthForce Imperators. The astromech beeped that it was ready for the flight, as Hiller climbed into the cockpit and spun up the engines.

"Control, Blackbird 29, ready for launch."

"_Roger Blackbird 29. You are cleared for launch_." The reconnaissance fighter shot out of the forward facing bay into space. Moving away from the carrier, Captain Hiller activated the fighter's hyperdrive, and with a flicker of pseudomotion, the stealth fighter shot into hyperspace.

00000  
**40 Eridani A**  
A few hours later

The mottled "sky" of hyperspace gave way to star lines which, in turn, reverted back to stars, as the Blackbird dropped out of hyperspace. "Alright, let's get sneaky," Steve said, as he shut down the interior lights. "Raptor, shut down the external lights." The little droid behind the cockpit complied, and extinguished the fighter's running lights and his own visual indicators. The course taken prevented the Imperial ships to detect the fighter's hyperspace signature, but was the shortest one from approach to departure.

As the fighter came around the Class K1V orange star, Raptor flipped on the reconnaissance pod. CCD cameras began capturing the force arrayed around second planet. "Holy God," Steve muttered, even the droid whistled in shock at the size. 15 Impstars, 10 Vicstars, 5 Dreadnoughts, and a lone Interdictor sat in orbit over the planet. The electronic intelligence suite in the nose recorded Imperial communications on the planet, indicating the presence of Acclamator-class Star Destroyers being used as troop transports.

Pressing his luck, Steve cruised closer towards the fleet, keeping an eye on his threat indicator. At 20 thousand kilometers, the board was yellow, indicating that the mass of Imperial sensors were close to defeating the fighter's carbon fiber skin. "Raptor, you got that exit vector plotted?" The droid whistled an affirmative in reply. "Engaging hyperdrive. Man, I have got to get me one of these," he said, as the fighter shot back into hyperspace.

Jack was still sitting in the center seat when the Blackbird finished landing on the _Prometheus_. With the recon data downloaded, he shook his head. "So much for a little pleasure cruise. Jessica, get me General Lim's office."

"Yes sir." Captain Rand looked up from her screen. "Colonel, the General's not in his office."

"Get me his quarters then. This is so hot, can't wait."

"Yes sir."

The main viewscreen flared to life, showing a slightly irate Jedi Master, and his green-haired wife in the background. "_Colonel O'Neil,_" Ranma said.

"General, sorry to disturb you like this, but we've got some intelligence that's just too hot to sit and wait."

That piqued his interest. "_Go ahead, Colonel._"

"We received what was apparently a distress call, so I launched a Blackbird. It seems that the Imperials have invaded a neighboring star system with 15 Impstars, 10 Victories, and an unknown number of troop transports."

"_Thank you, Colonel. I'm ending your shakedown, and request that you to EarthForce Headquarters as soon as you arrive at Tycho Base. I'll inform General Hammond of your change in orders. Transmit the data on a secure channel, so that we can begin planning a relief mission._"

"Understood, General. _Prometheus_ out."

00000

Ranma walked into his office the next morning, nodding to the various officers and enlisted personnel in the headquarters building. There was a lot on the Jedi Master's mind since the bombshell that Criofan hadn't been idle. _At least he didn't implement Base Delta Zero_, he mused. _That's something that we can use against him, if we can throw his forces of the planet._

"Sir, Colonel O'Neil and Admiral Gerrod are waiting for you in your office. I have General Hammond on channel 3 for you as well," his yeoman said, as he walking into his outer office.

"Thank you, Chief," Ranma replied. "Admiral, General, Colonel." The two officers in the office, and in a hologram nodded, as Ranma sat down behind his desk. "Have you had a chance to review the report?"

"Yes sir. That looks like a good portion of Criofan's force right there," Gerrod said. "If we can take it down, that'll be less for us to have to mop up later."

"_Admiral, that force is about the size of what you got right there on the Moon,_" General Hammond countered. "_If we go in with the full EDF, what's going to be left to defend Earth from Admiral Criofan, if he should decide to attack Earth?_"

Ranma looked at Gerrod. "General Hammond raises a valid point, Ger. If we send the entire fleet, we're leaving Earth stripped bare. I want you in command here, anyway. You have a flair for fighting defensive battles that was unsurpassed during the Clone Wars. I'm taking 3 of our 4 Impstars, _Serenity Dominant_, _Wild Stallion II_, and _Saturn_; along with the ten Vicstars named after the planets here. That leaves you a majority of the force centered around the _Republic_.

"I'm also taking 13 corvettes and ten dreadnaughts. General Hammond, with your permission, I'm taking the _Prometheus_ along as well."

"_Of course, General; the consideration that we'd have to defend Earth as part of the EDF was why we built her in the first place. Colonel, stay out of trouble._"

"When do I ever stay out of trouble, General," Jack replied.

"Will you be bringing the Senshi, General?"

"Of course. Those girls have been too Earthbound as it is. And besides, Usagi's mission is two-fold. She's the titular head to her mother's empire, such as it remains, so it would serve her to go out into space on occasion; and she'll be the diplomatic point of contact for the natives of this system."

"Are you really sure that's wise, General," Gerrod asked.

Ranma smiled. "They'll either like her automatically, or they'll just sign on to shut her up." The other officers chuckled at that. Clearing his throat, Ranma grew serious, as he began to issue orders. "General Hammond, ensure that a system-wide CAP is in place. Don't let the Imps surprise you."

"_Yes sir._"

"Admiral Gerrod, make sure you position your ships within five minutes of any point in the system to support the fighters on combat patrol, with mutual support. All shore leaves are canceled, commencing in one hour. I'll have my aide draw up the list of ships that will be supporting the counterattack.

"Colonel O'Neil, how quickly can the _Prometheus_ be ready to put back to space?"

"I need time to load stores and refuel, General. 24 hours at the most."

"You have eighteen. Gentlemen, the upcoming fight may not be a critical battle like Coruscant, or Midway, but it in it's own right. The Empire is dependent on a finicky trick of temporal and quantum mechanics. Our supply lines are in our own backyard, as are our potential allies. We bloody the nose of the Empire in the next few days, and it may be enough to send him reeling. We lose, and we lose the galaxy. I do not intend to lose.

"Dismissed."


	15. Chapter 14

**Tycho Naval Base  
**0600 hours, UCT

Ranma walked on to the bridge of the _Wild Stallion II_, and watched the quiet, controlled chaos of the bridge crew preparing their ship for departure. Through the viewports, other warships were preparing to get underway as a simulated sun began to rise in the cavern. Each of the Star Destroyers named after the Senshi bore that Senshi's color on the command tower and somewhere along the flanks and main hull. Of course, several Destroyer crews felt sorry for the crew of the EFS _Luna_, and her bright pink markings. The only exception was _Serenity Dominant_. She bore the royal seal of the House of Serenity.

Aides and messengers ran hither and yon, as the final predeparture checklists were completed. "General Lim," Captain Erlich said, with a cough, "welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Captain," Ranma replied.

"All moorings clear Captain; running lights on," the helmsman reported. "Maneuvering thrusters holding station."

"Yard Command signals clear, sir," the communications officer added.

"Helm, thrusters ahead slow. Take us out."

"Thrusters ahead slow." Ever so slowly, the thrusters overcame months of inertia, and the battleship began to pull out of her slip and into the channel.

"Wild Stallion, _you are cleared for Channel Alpha to the surface. May the Force be with you,_" their controller called over the radio.

"Thank you, Control," Erlich replied, coughing again. "Helm, make for Channel Alpha; thrusters ahead two-thirds."

"Aye sir."

"Are you alright, Captain?" Ranma asked.

"I'll be fine, General. Just a bit of a cold, that's all."

The ship cleared the opening into close-in space over the Moon, before the sublight engines fired, pulling the ship away from surface of the crater. "We are free, and clear to navigate," Lt. Polon reported.

"Course heading, General?"

"Make for the rendezvous point, Captain. I'll be in my quarters."

00000

Ranma sat at his desk, report flimsies in hand. The reconnaissance data from 40 Eridani A made him wonder if this was a good idea. _Trust in the Force, young Jedi_, his Master taught him. _It makes a great many things seem possible._ The door chime sounded. "Come in," he called, distracted.

A middle aged male, wearing US Navy shipboard khakis walked into the General's suite. The pair of silver oak leaves on his collar indicated he held the rank of Commander. "General Lim, Dr. Wilder wanted me to tell you that Captain Erlich is down with pneumonia."

"And you are," Ranma asked, distracted.

"Oh, I'm Commander Dodge, formerly US Navy; the _Wild Stallion_'s executive officer."

Ranma's eyebrow raised in a classic Spock maneuver. "You're the 'Commander Dodge' with the tattoo…?"

"Yes sir, I'm that Commander Dodge," he replied. "I see Admiral Winslow's been talking about me again."

The Jedi chuckled. "The Force works in mysterious ways, Commander. I assume that you are taking command of the ship?"

"Yes sir, as part of my official duties," Dodge replied. "General, I've been looking over the plans, and I have a suggestion that should give us an edge we need."

"Go ahead."

"Well sir, these ships used to belong to the Imperial Navy before they were…acquired, right?" Ranma nodded. "Then our ships still have the Imperial transponder codes assigned to them, or at least the ability to mimic a standard Imperial code."

"And we slip in, open fire on them, and sow more confusion. I like it, but I need to think about it, Commander." Ranma smirked. "For now, contact the task force, and advise them to reactivate their Imperial transponders, and encode their EDF frequencies on a classified channel that Communications will provide."

"Yes sir…" CDR Dodge was interrupted by the intercom. "_General quarters, general quarters, all hands to battlestations. Unidentified vessel has just appeared off our starboard bow. General quarters, general quarters; this is not a drill._

"_General Lim and Commander Dodge to the bridge please._"

"That sounds like our cue, Commander," Ranma said, as he stood and headed for the hatch.

"Status," Commander Dodge called, as he walked onto the bridge of the Star Destroyer.

"Commander, the unidentified ship is holding station 10 thousand kilometers off our port bow. Battlestations are manned and ready; Condition One set throughout the ship. The _Ling_ and _Scorpion_ are holding station off the intruder, at 5 thousand kilometers."

Ranma looked through the bridge viewports. "Do we have any visuals?"

"Yes, General," the duty officer replied. A monitor lit up, showing a truly alien looking ship. Both bow elevation and plan view showed the hull curving in on itself.. "Data feed is coming from the _Ling_, sir."

"Hm…have there been any attempts at communications?"

"No sir."

"Is it possible their communications systems are incompatible with ours?"

"It would explain a great many things," Ranma pontificated.

Dodge looked at the Aerospace Operations officer. "Signal the flight deck. Launch the ready five for a fly-by."

"Aye sir." A few moments later, a quartet of Y-wings came arcing up over the starboard side of the Star Destroyer and accelerated towards the unidentified ship.

"Stallion_, this is Red Arrow One, we're making our approach run on the target. Hull looks like its bore the brunt of an Imperial attack; it's carbon-scored and penetrated in a few locations. No discernable weapons ports or sublight engines. Sensor readings indicate that there is life support operational, and a handful of lifesigns, but the readings are inconsistent._"

Dodge hit a communications stud. "Affirmative, Red Arrow One; we'll come alongside and bring it into the bay. _Stallion_ Actual, out." Releasing the stud, he looked down in the command pit. "Helm, bring us alongside. Ready tractor beams. Communications, have medical personnel report to the hangar."

"Aye sir." The Star Destroyer slowly moved towards the much smaller ship, and halted a few hundred meters from it. Tractor beams locked on and dragged the unidentified ship into the main hangar bay. Marines and Republic troops took station around the ship, as a preventative measure.

Engineers spliced into the controls for the airlock, and as it slid open, a body fell out. The upswept eyebrows, pale skin with a very subtle greenish tinge to it, and the pointed ears all pointed towards a campy 1960s science-fiction series that spawned five spinoff series and 11 movies. One of the human medics, from Earth, looked at the body. "This one's dead," he said, after noting the green lines of lividity. "Holy gawd, Roddenberry was right. Vulcans do exist."

"You'd think that after meeting us, you'd remember that you're not all alone in the night," his compatriot from Coruscant jibed. One of the surviving occupants stepped awkwardly into light. Her robes would have been immaculate, had they not been streaked with smoke. The marines near the airlock tensed. "Oh boy, we've got ourselves a First Contact."

She raised her right hand, giving the salute. "This is an Earth ship," she asked. Her voice had a cultured English accent.

"In a roundabout way, ma'am," the Earth medic replied.

"Fascinating. I am T'Mir, captain of the _T'Ever_. Please take me to your leader."


	16. Chapter 15

Commander Dodge and Ranma waited in one of the Star Destroyer's conference rooms, while mess droids and stewards brought in carafes of coffee and tea, pastries, and water. The _Wild_ _Stallion_'s first officer sat near the head of the table, a steaming cup of coffee already in front of him. _There actually is life in this galaxy_, Ranma mused, while watching a flight of ARC-170s fly past the flagship on patrol. _Baka, you should have known that anyway. After all, the chances of life-bearing planets are just as high as that in our home galaxy._

_But is that galaxy truly our home anymore? After all, it's nothing but pain and suffering there. At least with this galaxy, there's a chance to head it off, to eliminate the threat of the Empire, and form a federation of planets united in defense and trade, and perhaps even send help to the Rebellion in our home galaxy._

Dodge looked over at Ranma, standing at a viewport, literally staring off into space. "Nervous, General," he asked.

Ranma chuckled. "You have no idea, Commander. This was what the Republic's Outbound Flight mission was designed to do: discover extra-galactic civilizations, and make contact with them. Six Jedi Masters and a dozen Knights, trained in First Contact scenarios, the like that hadn't been seen in the thousand generations that the Republic had stood. When we lost contact with the mission, the Jedi turned inward, looking towards the maintenance of the Republic; turning their back on exploration and First Contact. The loss of 18 Jedi was an almost crippling event, especially since the new ways prevented Jedi from love of a single person, and sustaining the Order through birth."

Dodge looked at Ranma with a questioning gaze, but decided not to interrupt in hopes of clearing the confusion he was feeling. Ranma scoffed, as he continued to stare out over the hull of his flagship. "Our introspection was a joke. We couldn't even see the Sith Lord hidden in plain sight, manipulating the Trade Federation into invading Naboo, building up a clone army in secret, and manipulating the Separatists into instigating the Clone Wars.

"Now, it's up to me to see, a member of the Special Operations Executive, about establishing diplomatic ties with an alien race." Ranma adjusted his robes, turning as the door slid open. Captain T'Mir stood with her Marine escort at the threshold. "Captain T'Mir, welcome aboard the _Wild Stallion_. I am General Ranma Lim, Jedi Master, and commander of the Earth Defense Force. May I introduce the ship's executive officer, currently in command, Commander Thomas Dodge?"

"Ma'am," Dodge said, with a courteous bow.

"General, Commander," T'Mir replied, her hands behind her. Ranma sat down at the head of the table. "Captain, please be seated," he said, motioning to a chair across from Dodge. "How can we help," he asked as T'Mir sat.

"My government has authorized me to request asylum from the Terran government for myself, my crew, and passengers aboard the _T'Ever_," she said, flatly.

"Perhaps, instead of requesting asylum, you could establish a government-in-exile and alliance with the Earth government. We were preparing to jump to 40 Eridani to relieve your system."

T'Mir's eyebrow went up. "Really?"

"Yes ma'am," Ranma replied. "One of our ships, the _Prometheus_, recorded what was probably a distress call, coming from what we call 40 Eridani. The captain launched one of his reconnaissance fighters to check it out." The display lit up, showing the recorded images from Captain Hiller's reconnaissance of 40 Eridani.

"Yes, that is the force that has taken over our planet," T'Mir confirmed. "I was leery to initiate contact when I saw the silhouettes of your vessels matching those that attacked our home world."

Ranma smiled. "Understandable. Most of our ships came from Imperial shipyards. And we're going to use that against them." The smile faded, as he looked across the conference table at the alien captain. "You can accompany us, or head to Earth, and begin negotiations with the United Earth Government. But, I cannot guarantee that they'll listen, or that it'll be a short fight. We're outnumbered by both men and materiel, and neither the Empire nor EarthForce has many friends here."

T'Mir appeared unflappable to the Jedi Master. "General, as logical as it would be to begin negotiations with your government on an alliance, the needs of my planet outweighs the needs of my few crewmembers or myself. I request that we accompany you back to our system. A familiar face to the partisans, and free forces would be an asset to your relief mission.

"I will, however, discuss your proposals with my crew and passengers."

"Captain T'Mir, welcome aboard," Ranma replied, a twinkle in his blue eyes. "I just need to know what to call your species to let my superiors know who we are going to help."

The faintest of smiles grew on T'Mir's face, something uncharacteristic had she been one of Roddenberry's Vulcans. "The name of our species does not translate easily into English. However, one of your crewmen called us 'Vulcans,' and that would be an acceptable term for us."

"That will work. Commander Dodge, please have quarters arranged for Captain T'Mir and her company and crew; medical treatment for those who require it."

"Certainly, General. I take it we'll be leaving for 40 Eridani shortly?"

Ranma nodded. "Have Communications signal the fleet to begin jump preparations; fleet speed will be Point Five."

"Understood, General," Dodge replied, as he stood. "Captain T'Mir, if you would accompany me, please?"

"Of course, Commander," the Vulcan captain said, as she stood as well. "General."

000000

"Commander Dodge, is the fleet ready," Ranma asked, as he moved to the forward viewports of the Star Destroyer's bridge.

"Yes sir, the fleet is ready. Communications has upgraded their translation protocols to include the Vulcan language. Tactical has added silhouettes of all known Vulcan ship classes."

"Excellent. Signal all ships: Make the jump to hyperspace."

"Yes sir." Dodge relayed the order to the communications officer, and with flickers of pseudomotion, the fleet began its run up to lightspeed. "Mr. Beech," Dodge ordered, as he leaned over the crew pit, "engage." And with the barest perception of movement, the mile long battleship leapt into hyperspace.

"ETA to 40 Eridani 7 minutes, Commander," Mr. Beech relayed up from his station. "Assuming no unusual conditions lie between Sol and the target system."

"Excellent, Lieutenant," Dodge replied.

Captain T'Mir walked on to the bridge of the Star Destroyer, and lost her Vulcan stoicism as she took in the mottled, swirling "sky" of hyperspace. Ranma turned and faced the Vulcan emissary. "Captain," he said. "We should be arriving at 40 Eridani in approximately 5 minutes."

"General, just how fast _are_ you traveling," she asked, still amazed that a journey that took them 48 days would be accomplished in less than a 15 Terran minutes.

"127 light-years an hour, give or take anomalous conditions, Captain," Lieutenant Beech replied. "Our top speed is Point Five past lightspeed, or approximately 1.2 million times the speed of light."

T'Mir's view on space travel was shattered by these revelations. "Just how do you manage traveling this fast? The best we've managed is warp factor five, and that's on only a few ships, like the _T'Ever_."

Commander Embrar, the _Wild Stallion_'s engineering officer, left his station, and entered the conversation. "Just how do you go faster than light?"

"The theory would take too long to describe, but we warp space around us, carrying a piece of relativistic "normal" space around our ship, and then enter subspace."

"Ah, primitive, but functional," Embrar said. T'Mir arched an eyebrow at that. "We enter a subspace where time flows differently, but there are 'mass shadows' where stars, planets and other gravitational anomalies exist. Which is why we're able to go faster than your 'warp space'."

"General," Mr. Beech called, "we're preparing to revert to normal space."

"Very well. Put me on intership."

"You're on, General."

"This is EarthForce Actual. We're about to drop into a highly contested chunk of space. This will be our first foray against the Empire; they are highly trained and motivated. But so are we. I know you'll all do your duties, and bring credit upon the Earth Defense Forces.

"The order is: All hands to Action Stations; set Condition One throughout the ship. Launch all fighters upon reversion to normal space. And may the Force be with us."

A muted alarm began sounding throughout the bridge and ship, as bridge's lighting changed to red. "General," Commander Chuikov called from fleet tactical station, "all ships reporting in. Condition One set throughout the fleet."

"Fleet fighterrrs rrreporrrting in the grrreen," Wing Commander M'ret reported.

"Reversion to normal space in 5…4…3…2…1…0…sublight engines online."

"All ships have reverted to normal space. Fighters launching, General." The _Wild Stallion_'s snubfighters came up in an arcing climb from her primary hangar bay as each squadron launched and formed up under the flagship. Similar scenes were occurring on the Star Destroyers as the fighter division formed.

"Generrral, incoming TIE fighterrrs."

"Weapons free. Detail Victory, Minuteman, and Airbat squadrons to defend the flagship."

"Yes sirrr," the Caitian wing commander replied.

Space began to fill with verdant green laser and turbolaser bolts from the combatant ships. Y-Wings, ARC-170 and the precious few X-Wings tangled with the vertical-winged TIE/ln fighters of the Imperial Starfleet. Blooms of fire appeared where fighter, both friend and foe, were shot down.

"Communications," Ranma ordered from the holotable, "new orders for the Star Destroyers: Form up on the flagship; alter course to 135 mark 275, ahead three-quarters. Navigation, put us right in the middle of my Imperial counterpart's formation, ahead three quarters. Dreadnoughts and corvettes to make slashing flank attacks. Parry their smaller ships and older Acclamators."

"Aye sir," the ship began a rolling dive on to her new course, leading her two sister Imperators and older siblings in the form of the 11 Victories.

"Star Destroyer force responding, General."

"Commander Embrar, I want the shields to remain up, without having to roll the vessel. Can it be down?"

"I'll see to it myself, General," Embrar replied. He then left the holotable and moved towards the aft blast door.

"Weapons, standby heavy turbolaser batteries—port and starboard sides. I want suppressive fire from all smaller batteries."

"Aye sir."

* * *

As the fleet closed on the Imperial force, the heavy turbolaser batteries on the flanks of the dorsal and ventral hull begin rotating into firing position. The smaller batteries that comprised the bulk of her firepower began intensifying their rate of fire. TIE fighters on their attack run against the _Wild Stallion_ were caught off guard by the increase in firepower; some managed to break off their attack runs, others got winged and spun of into the depths of space, and yet others were vaporized flat out. 

The heavy turbolasers locked on to their first target- the Vicstars _Praetor_ and _Ramilles_. 20 green bolts of charged energy tore into the shields of the older Imperial ships, and, as the _Wild Stallion_ continued her climb up through the Imperial column, walked up the aft side of _Praetor_'s command tower and _Ramilles_ bow. The older first generation Victories weren't designed to withstand that sort of pounding, originally designed to provide fire-support within an atmosphere. The _Praetor_'s port sublight engine exploded, throwing the vessel into a flat spin to starboard. Additional volleys from the _Wild Stallion_'s heavy turbolasers ripped through her target's scanner domes and peppered the command tower, venting large sections into space. The _Praetor_ began to fall out of formation, as her engineers and damage control teams tried to recover the crippled ship.

Her sister ship, the _Ramilles_, wasn't so lucky. Multiple heavy turbolaser bolts found their way into the warship's bridge, obliterating all command and control for the Vicstar. The ship began to plummet out of formation, and rammed the _Victor_, splitting the second ship in half.

A cheer went up on the bridge of the EarthForce flagship. "At ease," Ranma called. "There are still a helluva a lot of enemy ships in orbit.

"Communications, signal the formation to forgo battle lines, and attack. All vessels attack."

"Aye sir."

T'Mir flinched involuntarily as a TIE fighter went screaming past the bridge of the _Wild Stallion_, an ARC-170 hot on its tail. The two snubfighters passed so close, personnel near the bridge's viewports could see the "612" and stylized bat painted on the nose of the former Republic fighter. "Definitely not the way I ever pictured a space battle, Captain," Commander Dodge commented. The line of battle fell apart as individual ships broke formation and began hammering the nearest counterpart. The dozen EDF corvettes that Ranma took with him, lead by the _Prometheus_, zipped between the larger ships, like terrestrial destroyers in the midst of a great naval battle; the Dreadnoughts slugged it out with larger Imperial ships, making use of their design to absorb punishing blows that would have destroyed lesser capable ships.

"Indeed, not, Commander," she replied. "Our planet was taken by surprise, before the High Command could launch our combat vessels. And our last war was fought two centuries ago, in deep space against the Andorians. It was a much…neater affair." Smaller blooms of fire speckled the view from the _Wild Stallion_'s bridge, as snubfighters, both Imperial and EarthForce, died in self-feeding orgies of plasma.

"Commander Dodge," Ranma asked, motioning the flagship's XO over to the holotable. The battle hovered above the surface, showing the fight in detail.

"Yes, General?"

"You notice this Imperator hanging back from the fight?"

"The _Black Prince_. You think she's the command ship?"

"I'm almost certain of it," Ranma replied. "Plot her coordinates and prepare a microjump."

"General?"

"We did it quite successfully during the Clone Wars. They won't expect us to jump in. They'll see our run up to lightspeed, and we'll appear along their broadsides, turbolasers firing."

"Ah, sort of like the fictional Picard Maneuver, from _Star Trek_," Dodge replied.

"Exactly. Navigation?"

"Coordinates plotted, General," Mr. Beech called.

"Execute on my mark. Communications, inform Victory, Minuteman and Airbat Squadrons of what we are planning. Have them remain with the fleet."

"Aye sir."

"Mr. Beech, execute." The _Wild Stallion II_ began its run up to lightspeed, and shot into hyperspace, before immediately dropping out of it next to her Imperial counterpart, the _Black Prince_. "Starboard batteries: Fire!"

The entire starboard side of the EF flagship lit up as her turbolasers opened fire, bathing the _Black Prince_'s shields in high energy blasts. The _Wild Stallion_'s heavy batteries traversed on to the target and opened fire. Their slower rate of fire, but heavier charge, pummeled the Imperial Imperator's port shields.

It's not to say that Captain Caradoc was going to roll over and surrender. The diehard Imperial had his ship's batteries open fire, lacing the EF flagship with withering turbolaser fire, while TIE Interceptors poured out from her belly by the dozens. Explosions lanced from both Imperators as turbolaser bolts penetrated their shields and boiled off the armored hull below. The Imperial TIE fighters, free from having to defend themselves against enemy fighters strafed the hulls of the _Wild Stallion_, targeting and destroying turbolaser emplacements.

"Navigation," Ranma shouted over the din of alarm klaxons, "starboard roll. Bring portside batteries to bear. Tactical: Have batteries fire as they bear. Standby to fire ion cannons. CAG, what fighters do we have left?"

"Aye, sir," Mr. Beech replied. He relayed the orders to his helmsman, and the EarthForce battleship began to roll 90 degrees to the _Black Prince_. The portside turbolaser batteries opened fire as their Imperial sister became visible.

"Ion control reports ready, General," the tactical officer reported.

"Not much, Generrral," Wing Commander M'ret reported. "Just a few Blackbirrrds and rrrecon Y-wings."

"_Die, you arrogant sonovabitch,_" a dulcet voice called over the communications net. An Interceptor exploded as the blaster bolts from an ARC-170 found their mark. The fighter roared over the hull of the flagship, followed quickly by three of her wingmates. "_Haneda, Shin, Kagome, incoming marks at 3 o'clock, relative. Break and engage._"

"Pilot, identify yourrrself," M'ret growled.

"_Second Lieutenant Mitaka Arisa, ma'am, 801st Tactical Fighter Squadron._" The holotable updated itself, showing four fighters from the 801st leaving the hull of the _Wild Stallion_. "_I thought it was kind of odd that the flagship would take off without any fighter escort._"

"The Force is with us," Ranma said. "We have fighter cover. M'ret, contact Victory, tell them to haul ass over here, and support the element from the 801st."

"Yes sirrr."

Ranma returned to the holotable to watch the battle, while returning command of the flagship back to Commander Dodge. The former US Navy officer began issuing his own commands to fight the ship in the best traditions of the US Navy. "Communications: signal the _Nemesis_, _Luna_, and _Terra_. They're to begin preparations for orbital bombardment of the larger Imperial troop concentrations."

"Yes sir."

"General, are you sure it's time to begin our liberation? There's still a significant force out there."

Ranma looked at his flag captain. "My dear Captain Maturin, now is the perfect time. Caradoc's task force is preoccupied with us, and won't be able to support the Imperial troops." A massive fireball lit up the bridge. Ranma turned back to the intelligence officer. "What ship?"

"The _Iron Duke_, General. Imperial Imperator Star Destroyer."

"Very good…" Ranma was thrown off his feet, as the _Wild Stallion_ wheeled against the blast wave; the starfield beyond the viewports spinning wildly, as the ship's inertial dampeners fought to stabilize the ship. The lights on the bridge flickered for a few moments before dropping offline. Pale white emergency lighting flickered on, bathing the bridge in a stark glow. "Status report!"

"Damage report," Dodge shouted at the same time.

"Sirs, the _Black Prince_ just exploded. Shock damage to our ship from the concussion wave. Shields bore the brunt of the debris; life support down 25, electrical systems down 35 overall. We're still getting reports on casualties. Primary sublight drives offline. Fire in frames 23 492 through 23 600; Damage Control is attempting to bring it under control."

"Status of the element from the 801st?"

"Still with us, General. They were on the opposite side of the ship when the _Black Prince_ exploded."

"General, the Imperial fleet is disengaging."

"Signal all Star Destroyers: Prepare to deploy ground forces and fighter support. All Vicstars, corvettes and the _Prometheus_ to enter the atmosphere and provide fire support."

"Yes sir." A few moments later, the holotable showed the atmospheric-capable warships entering the atmosphere, the corvettes and fighters leading the landing barges. Turbolaser bolts began raining down on the Imperial garrisons, as swarms of TIE fighters began climbing to meet the EarthForce starfighters. A furious swirling furball began developing as ARC-170s, Y-wings, and X-wings engaged Imperial fighters. Fireballs punctuated the deaths of friend and foe alike, as the rescue channels began receiving the rescue beacons of those fortunate enough to eject from their dieing fighter.

The Terran fighters had distinct advantages over their Imperial counterparts—they were aerodynamically sound, as opposed to the high drag penalties granted by the TIE fighter's vertical wings. Another advantage was also shown by the fact that almost all of the Terran pilots were trained in atmospheric operations from day one of their original service enlistments, and they used this training to the utmost; unlike their Imperial counterparts who spent the majority of their career in vacuum. Of course, the rugged construction and shields in the EF fighters helped as well. All in all, the aerial battle for 40 Eridani A II was a resounding victory for the EarthForce Fleet Aerospace Arm.


	17. Chapter 16

Ranma stood near the holotable, watching the battle. Icons representing the highly modified Abrams, Challengers, Leopards, T-80s, and Type 90s of the ground forces led the vanguard of mechanized infantry towards their Imperial counterparts. The concept of replacing the standard fossil fuel powerplant with a fusion power cell and drive system resulted in armor with more capabilities than their older counterparts. Fuel tanks were replaced with life-support equipment, allowing the armored vehicles to work on a variety of atmospheres. There was still a sufficient excess of power to adapt shipboard turbolasers for the main cannon. The original manufacturers were busy designing in repulsorlift and shield generators into the later variants.

Icons indication surviving Imperial turbolasers would appear as they revealed themselves by opened fire, only to be immediately draw counterbattery fire from either the supporting warships or the modified self-propelled artillery they brought with them. "The Imperial army still seems to think that swarm tactics work," he noted, as Y-wing icons swarmed over several battalion-sized formations. "I wonder how long it'll take them to realize that it doesn't. Especially with a dearth of air cover." Between their nose-mounted laser cannons and conventional bombs released from external bomb racks, Imperial Army formations ceased to exist. Even the universally feared AT-ATs, with their heavy armor and firepower, were no match for the combination of aerial dominance over the battlefield, orbital fire support, and warship-grade weaponry mounted on ground vehicles. Only stormtrooper battalions had marginally better survival rates against the air attacks.

"General, we're getting reports of partisan attacks against Imperial forces; the Imperial prisoners have reported supply columns bombed, outlying garrisons attacked, and the sniping of senior ranks."

"Captain T'Mir?"

The Vulcan captain looked at the Jedi. "I would surmise that members of the High Command and Defense Forces were able to escape the initial onslaught, and escaped to outlying areas, to begin a guerilla campaign against the invader."

"There by making the occupation of the planet difficult, if not impossible, for the invaders. I've done it myself during the Clone Wars, against the Separatist Forces, and again in the early days of the Empire, on those planets that wanted to remain free. I think we'd better stave off any potential mistakes, before they happen." Ranma turned to the communications officer. "Mr. Merrik, signal the _Serenity Dominant_, and…diplomatically request young Queen Serenity's presence on the _Wild Stallion_."

"Yes sir."

The Jedi Master turned back to the Vulcan captain. "I'm sorry to do this, Captain."

"Why do you say that, General?"

"Queen Serenity is…enthusiastic, especially when it comes to making new friends. Extremely enthusiastic."

"Should we be afraid?" T'Mir asked, a delicate eyebrow arching upward.

"Depends on your tolerance to syrupy sweetness," Ranma replied. "You're not a diabetic, are you?"

T'Mir chuckled. "It shouldn't be too difficult. Although, if she is as 'cheerful' as you say she is, the partisans may not want to join."

"We can only hope that she can restrain her enthusiasm." Ranma turned back to the communications officer. "Mr. Merrik, have Her Majesty's shuttle dock in the main hangar bay; Marines to report for honor guard detail.

"Commander Dodge?"

"Yes General?"

"I'll be in the hangar with Captain T'Mir."

"Yes General. Shall we have your wife come down as well?"

Ranma smirked. "No. As much as that might keep Usagi quiet, I believe she has other things to do. Also, Commander you're out of uniform. I'm promoting you to the rank of 'Captain', effective immediately. Meet us in the main hangar deck."

"Yes sir."

Ranma and Captain T'Mir were awaiting Usagi's arrival in the main hangar deck. Creating an aisle near where Serenity's shuttle would land, stood the EarthForce troops assigned to the _Wild Stallion II_. Marines, armored cavalry troops, and a few pilots and ship's company that could be spared stood in company formations, facing each other. The Lambda-class shuttle could be seen through the atmospheric containment shield, approaching the Imperator's main docking and hangar bay; a quartet of X-wings flying security, in case any of the TIE fighters that hadn't fled with the Imperial fleet, or surrendered, caused trouble.

The loudspeaker squawked to life. "Lunar One _on final approach._" The shuttle's wings folded up, as the craft neared the massive opening. At an unheard command, the compliment of EarthForce personnel snapped to attention as the shuttle's main gear touched the polished black deck of the flagship's hangar. As clouds of steam vented, the main gangway lowered and a bosun's mate sounded her pipe, the shrill tones echoing through the cavernous bay.

And a ball of energy, known to the fleet personnel as Queen Serenity XVI, and to the high command as Usagi, came running down the gangway. "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii," she called, ruining the solemnity of the moment. Of course, all it took was one former Sailor Suited fighter for Love and Justice placing her foot wrong. The Light Side of the Force was taking a much need breather up at Toltir's, so Ranma was left without warning. The two of them hit, and with Ranma overbalanced, the two of them landed on the deck.

Most of the assembled company looked at the sight of Usagi's head in the Jedi's crotch, and kept silent. Except for some wise guy from Nerima's Furinkan district. "Damn, I wish I was the General," he said, as Ranma's eyes crossed. "I wouldn't be surprised if women always had that effect on him."

"What, making his eyes go crossed like that?" His friend, incidentally also from Nerima, asked.

"You know, now that you mention it, Hiroshi, I've seen Lady Pluto do that to him also. But it's almost like the Force leaves the General, letting them catch him unawares like that."

"Oh, why are we saddled with such an easily beleaguered general," Hiroshi asked.

Unfortunately, Ranma's excellent hearing, coupled with the Force returning to him, happened to overhear the two computer techs from Nerima. A memory from Ranma's youth as a Saotome wormed its way up from the depths. He fixed the two Japanese crewmembers with a look, and cleared his throat. "You two wouldn't happen to be related to a 'Genma Saotome' would you?" After assuming command of the EDF, Ranma did a search on his wayward Terran father, and was not amused with what he had found: Multiple warrants for his arrest, multiple arranged marriages, and multiple debts in the name of "Ranma Saotome".

"No sir," Hiroshi and Daisuke said together, as one's went for their crotch, and the other the collar of their uniform. "Please, no!" Their crewmates began sliding away from the perverted duo.

Propping himself up with one hand, he shook his head. "You needn't worry. I'm not Darth Vader. Or Dark Helmet. My punishment will be much more…entertaining."

"Gulp." Even Captains T'Mir and Dodge winced at that.

Usagi choose this moment to open her mouth. "Yph ifph Mffph!"

"What did she say? No, wait. On second thought, I'd rather not know," the Jedi said, before muttering: "Setsuna's going to kill me if she finds out."

The Queen of the Moon picked her head up out of the Jedi's lap. "What was that all about? I just tripped."

"Never you mind, Your Majesty," Ranma said, helping her up. "You'll find out when you're older."

Usagi missed the innuendo, of course. "Wow, Ranma, that was some battle. Are all of them going to be like that? I hope not, because I'd rather open friendly relations with the Empire, but if they're going to be meanies about everything, then I guess we'll just have to fight it out for love and justice."

She noticed Vulcan captain standing near the Jedi Master. "Hi, I guess you're Captain T'Mir. I'm really glad we were able to help you out, and liberate your planet. I hope our systems can be friends, or maybe even allies. Come on; let's go talk to your people on the ground."

Dodge couldn't help keep a smile off his face, as Usagi literally dragged T'Mir off to the turbolifts. "Thank God, that's not me," he muttered. "Commander Serith, you may dismiss the troops."

"Aye, aye Captain," the ship's new first officer replied. "Company, dismissed!"

00000

Setsuna had teleported off the ship prior to Usagi's arrival, and was sitting in front of the doughnut-shaped Gates of Time. "Oh kami, I feel sorry for my husband," she said, watching the proceedings through the mist-filled hole. Laughter, though, bubbled up from Senshi of Time. "Well…maybe that could explain Usa's pink hair. Ranma's mother, after all, _is_ a redhead."

"**_As well as you should, Guardian Pluto_**," the semi-sentient machine replied. "**_However, there will be a better outcome if Usagi negotiates rather than if Ranma attempted to negotiate by himself. Your husband has, on several occasions admitted that he was not the negotiator his brother was._**

"**_Be that as it may, your husband's fleet will provide much needed support in 2029, when Near Earth Asteroid 99942, or as NASA has dubbed it 'Apophis', approaches the keyhole, which would have resulted in an impact in 2036._**" The image in the center of the Gates changed to show Imperator Star Destroyers and Terran-built battleships closing on the "Doomsday" asteroid. Tractor beams latched on to the asteroid, and the mile long warships began slowing the chunk of debris from the herald of the end of the line of Serenity: the destruction of Nemesis. The reverse counterthrust from the six Imperators effectively gave the large chunk of detritus a new orbit. "**_The impact of Apophis would have resulted in immediate regional devastation where it would impact. However, the long term effects would have been more catastrophic. I have calculated exactly where the impact would have occurred, and the results are not good. They are, in fact, downright apocalyptic._**" The imagery within the central hole of the monolith changed to a satellite image of North America, before zooming in on the northwest corner of Wyoming.

"The Yellowstone supervolcano," Setsuna said, with a shudder.

"**_That would have been the cause of the Great Ice, Guardian Pluto; and is in all other timelines. The climatic change alone would devastate most of the world. The North American continent would have been rendered uninhabitable from the Rocky Mountains east from the ash. Northern Europe would be hurtled into conditions not seen since the last Ice Age. Glaciers that have been in retreat would begin to reform, choking pasture and meadow. Even being in the Southern Hemisphere would be no guarantee to escape from ejecta hurled into the stratosphere, and the cooling of the planet. The projected 5 to ten degree decrease in the Earth's average temperature would actually trigger the next Ice Age._**" The imagery changed again, showing a world wreathed in ash and volcanic dust, rendered in time lapse from impact to eruption to total cloud cover. The clouds of ash began to diminish, showing large ice sheets covering much of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, with the band of habitable land between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. "**_Mankind would be starting over, virtually from scratch. The technological gains that have been created over the past six millennia would be lost to the Ages; Plato's story of Atlantis come true. By bringing in a fleet of warships from the Galactic Empire, you and your husband will have invalidated this future._**"

"Well, at least we can be thankful for small things. What about the possibility of the Empire attacking Earth?"

"**_There is always that possibility, Guardian Pluto_**," the monolith replied, in its evenly modulated baritone. "**_However, the odds of that actually occurring are decreasing daily. But the odds are not zero, and these future events may yet come to pass._**"

"So the future that prompted us to change the past is minimal, then."

"**_That would be a logical assumption. However, contingency plans should be effected, so that any surprise is a pleasant one._**" Setsuna snorted, before teleporting back to the _Wild Stallion_. "**_Once again, I get the last word in._**"

00000

Ranma had excused himself from the meeting, allowing Usagi to shine as the Ambassador for the Sol System, and returned to his quarters. "Nice trick," he said as Setsuna appeared in the suite's common room.

"You've seen me do it before, anata," she countered.

"And it's still a neat trick," he replied.

"So how are the negotiations going?"

"If they don't kill Usagi, I think they're going to sign up with us in formal alliance."

"That's good news," Setsuna said, as she and Ranma sat down on the couch and cuddled.

"You're preoccupied," he said, feeling her agitation through the Force.

"I just saw the destruction of the Earth."

"What happened," Ranma asked.

"A 400m wide asteroid, nicknamed Apophis, slams into the Yellowstone supervolcano in 2036. The resulting eruption led to the next Ice Age," she said. "I also saw what happened if we win this war. EarthForce is able to prevent it from happening."

"So we need to win this war," Ranma said with finality.

"Yes, we do," his wife replied. "And for that, we'll need allies…"

The alarm klaxons began resonating, and the XO's voice came over the loudspeakers. "_Action stations, action stations. Set Condition One. This is not a drill._"

Ranma untangled himself from his wife, moved over to the desk, and hit the intercom stud. "Bridge, this is General Lim. What's going on up there?"

"_General, we have an unidentified contact at bearing 35 mark 183. The ship has just dropped out of FTL drive, and is on an intercept course with the flagship,_" Captain Dodge said. "_Tactical reports that the vessel does not conform to any known Vulcan, Republic or Imperial designs. Ships are moving to intercept, General._"

* * *

Voting's complete. As for which race it will be, it's…

A secret!


	18. Chapter 17

**Ord Centarus**  
Imperial-held planet  
Alpha Centauri A

Admiral Criofan looked from the bridge of the _Revenge_, at the motley assortment of warships returning from 40 Eridani. Vicstars and Impstars showed amounts of damage, ranging from minor hits and carbon scoring of the armor to massive tears in the hull structure, and missing command towers. "Communications," he said, with barely controlled contempt, "signal the surviving senior officer. He's to report to me. Personally."

"Yes Admiral," the lieutenant replied. "Sir, I have Captain Varrin, commander of the _Tiger_. He's on his way over now." Criofan did not reply, but continued to stare out at the battered task force he'd sent to capture the binary system 16 light-years out.

As he watched, the hull plates of one of the more severely damaged Vicstars began to bulge in the center. Escape pods began launching almost immediately, before the bulge gave way to an actinic white ball of fire. The ship's power core exploded spectacularly, hurling chunks of debris out in all directions.

"What ship was that," Criofan asked, as the ship's deck plates vibrated as they transmitted the dying ship's shockwave.

"The _Dominator_," Lt. Aubrey replied, looking at the order of battle.

"Sithspawn."

"Admiral Criofan, Captain Varrin reporting."

Criofan turned, and faced the middle-aged captain. His arm was in a sling, bandages covered part of his face. "Captain, what happened out there?"

"Sir, while we were supporting landing operations, a force of three Impstars, several Vicstars and multiple Corvettes jumped in system, with Imperial transponder codes. While Commodore Caradoc attempted to ascertain who they were, the lead Star Destroyers approached and opened fire on us at long range with heavy turbolasers.

"We formed battle lines, and engaged the enemy, but they split our line. The _Praetor_ was the first ship crippled; the _Ramilles_ lost her command and control sections, plummeted out of control into the _Victor_, destroying both ships.

"The lead ship, her IFF identifying her as the _Wild Stallion II_," Varrin noted that the Admiral's face twisted into a grimace, as the cup of caf he was holding was shattered as his hand clenched into a fist, "did a micro-jump and launched an attack on the _Black Prince_. It was as though there were two _Wild Stallion_s, Admiral. Before anyone could figure it out, the second _Wild Stallion_ disappeared, resolving itself into the original.

"Captain Caradoc fought valiantly, Admiral, giving no quarter to the Rebels, even as both Star Destroyers rolled to keep the other from penetrating their weakened shields, until his own ship was destroyed, moments after the _Iron Duke_ succumbed to Rebel fire.

"I ordered our surviving vessels to withdraw before we were destroyed or captured."

"Very well then," Criofan said. He couldn't fault the captain before for pulling back. Nor could he just kill him, like Vader, for failure. That would devastate the morale of the fleet. "You did what you were able to, Captain. Have what's left of your squadron put into Deepdock for repairs. Dismissed."

"Yes sir. Thank you Admiral," Varrin said saluting. As he turned, he paused. "For what it's worth, sir, our crews fought as best as they could, without having to deal with the potential of fratricide. The Rebels' ships look like ours." The captain of the _Tiger_ resumed his walk off the bridge of the flagship.

"Sever the head of the rancor, and the body falls." Admiral Caradoc stood there, watching his fleet through the viewports, pondering. "Lt. Aubrey, call a meeting of the fleet and ground force commanders. We're going to sever the head of this rancor that is 'Earth' once and for all."

00000  
**Vulcan**  
40 Eridani A III

The bridge of the _Wild Stallion II_ remained a scene of organized chaos. "Status report, Captain," Ranma called as he entered the bridge of his flagship, Setsuna, Usagi, and T'Mir hard on his heels.

"Sir," the former submarine commander replied, turning from the holotable, "the _Prometheus_, _Ling_, and _Stingray_ are five minutes out from intercept. I took the liberty of reordering the battle line being formed, just in case more ships revert to normalspace."

"Very good. Captain T'Mir, your thoughts?"

The Vulcan captain looked at the holographic display. "We are in the dark as much as you are, General. We've only seen their ships on our sensors, but they've left after our attempts at opening communications."

"General," Lt. Merrik called, "Colonel O'Neill reports he's approaching the unidentified ship. Unknown ship has still not replied to his hails."

Ranma watched as the three EarthForce ships approached the contact. "Is it possible that our communications systems are incompatible?"

"It would explain a great many things, General," T'Mir replied cryptically.

"Mr. Merrik, advise Colonel O'Neil that prudence requires him to open his weapons ports. He is to take no action that might precipitate a hostile action, but may defend his vessel and wingmates if the need arises."

"Yes General."

"May the Force be with us," he said quietly, "and that these aliens prove to be friendly."

Usagi was close enough to overhear the Japanese Jedi. "I'm sure they will, Ranma," she said chipperly. "After all, Captain T'Mir and I got the rebels on the planet to not attack any of our troops, and even agreed to ally with us."

"That they did, General," T'Mir confirmed.

"Excellent," Ranma replied. "That's the first good news I've heard all day, that didn't require a turbolaser pointed at someone else.

"Mr. Merrik, contact EarthForce Headquarters on a secure channel with that information. Also advise them that we are in another First Contact situation, with a previously unidentified race."

"Yes sir."

"Helm," Captain Dodge called down to the crew pit," "bring us alongside the _Prometheus_."

"Aye sir."

00000  
USS _Prometheus_, BC-303

"Inform the General that his message is understood," Colonel O'Neill told the ship's communications officer. "'Take no action that might precipitate a hostile action.' What does General Lim think I am, a warmonger?"

"Perhaps General Lim has read several of your after-action reports, O'Neill," Teal'c commented. There were suppressed chuckles from some of the Air Force and Navy personnel on the bridge of Earth's first home-grown starship.

"Alright, enough of that," O'Neill quipped. "Anything yet?"

"No sir. Friendship messages being broadcast on all frequencies and spectrums, in all languages in our database."

"Tactical- status?"

"We are at yellow alert, Colonel. Turbolasers manned and ready, capacitors are not charged, however. Colonel Quest has the fighter wing on alert. Unidentified vessel has come to a halt."

"Bring us alongside," Jack ordered. "Maintain yellow alert, keep the weapons systems on standby. Tactical, put the target on main viewscreen."

"Aye, sir. Z-plus 5 degrees, Y-negative 10," Lt. Meriwether replied, bringing the _Prometheus_ alongside the unidentified ship, as the large plasma display shimmered to life.

The unidentified ship was flat—no more that possibly 10 or 12 decks high—but broad, and shaped like a double-bladed dagger. One portion of the screen began to fill in with data the sensors recorded of the colorful red and black ship.

"Damn," LTC. Pendergast muttered, "ship's almost as big as an Impstar."

"Colonel O'Neill, unidentified ship's coming about. She's making her run up to lightspeed …" A pinpoint of light formed, and then opened up into hyperspace. The unknown ship accelerated towards the "gate" and made the jump to lightspeed. "She's gone, sir."

"Goddamn," Jack muttered.

"Sir, flagship is coming alongside."

"This won't make us look good."

"Colonel," Major Carter said, "they left before we initiated contact. Wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened to us."

"I know, Sam. It's the frustration, that's all." Jack turned to the communications officer. "Get me General Lim."

"Aye sir."

A holographic representation of the EarthForce Commander-in-Chief appeared before Jack. "_Colonel?_"

"Sir, we moved to intercept the target; friendship messages being transmitted on all frequencies. As we began to move alongside, she made the jump to lightspeed."

"_I see. Any communications from them at all?_"

"No sir. We're transmitting the data we recorded on the unidentified ship. She looked powerful, General, but we're still analyzing the data. Her weapons systems may actually be weaker than they appear."

"_Understood Colonel._" Ranma moved closer. "_Jack, don't worry about it. If they desire to make contact, they will. The Force works in mysterious ways, Colonel. Bring your element back into formation._"

"Of course it does General.Roger that, sir. _Prometheus_ out." The hologram faded. "Helm, bring us about. Communications, contact the _Ling _and_ Stingray_. Tell them we're returning to the formation."

"Aye sir." The four ships came about and returned to orbit around Vulcan.

00000

The fleet, and supported ground forces, settled into a routine of garrison duty as the days began to turn into weeks. Imperial troops that surrendered were sent to Earth as supply ships from EDF Headquarters doubled as prison barges on the return trip, under escort of Star Destroyer, Dreadnaught, and what surviving Vulcan ships returned from the outer reaches of their territory. Engineers began the reconstruction of Vulcan, beginning with the all important medical infrastructure.

Ranma sat in his office aboard the flagship, going over intelligence and logistical reports, as well as the interrogation reports from Imperial prisoners. As soon as the system was secure, he'd sent back most of his fleet to Earth, to bolster the homeworld's defenses. The _Wild Stallion II_, _Jupiter_, _Pluto_, and _Luna_ remained on station in the Vulcan system, with a handful of corvettes, Dreadnaughts, and Vulcan ships. So intent he was in his ruminations, he missed the intercom chime.

"_Plot to General Lim._"

Pulled out of his work, he hit the activation stud. "Lim here."

"_General, two new ships have arrived in system. Transponder codes identify them as the _Daedalus_ and _Ziolkowski"

"Very well. Signal my compliments to them, and have them report to Captain Goldstein on the _Jellicoe_. He'll assign them to their stations."

"_Aye sir. Plot out._"

Setting the report flimsies to the side, Ranma sat back and looked out the viewports. He could just pick out the twinkling of the newest ships in his fleet off in the distance. "Well, Earth's shipyards seem to be picking up production. We have a new ally, and there may be another new ally in the horizon. Or they could be a new enemy."

"_Bridge to General Lim._"

"Yes, Commander?"

"_Message from Captain T'Mir. She has the new Ambassador to Earth on board, and is ready to proceed._"

"Signal the _Jupiter, Soryu, Hood, _and _Armstrong_. They're to accompany us to Earth. Inform Captain Goldstein on the _Jellicoe_ that his is in command of the fleet while we're at Headquarters. Have Captain T'Mir bring her vessel aboard the _Wild Stallion_."

"_Aye, sir. Bridge out._"

Ranma walked onto the bridge of his flagship. The formation lights of the _Jupiter_ could be seen in the near distance, while the three Dreadnaughts hovered off the prow of the flagship. Captain T'Mir's transport, the _Valh'alla_, was secured in the main hangar of the Imperator, and Ambassador Soval placed in VIP quarters on the _Wild Stallion II_.

Captain Dodge turned to face the Commander in Chief. "General, all vessels have reported in."

"Signal the group to make the jump to lightspeed."

"Yes sir."

00000

The _Wild Stallion II_ cruised placidly through the Jovian moon system, the _Jupiter_, _Soryu_, _Hood_, and _Armstrong_ running escort. The gas giant hung over menacingly over the flagship, the Great Red Spot spinning below the ship's ventral keel. On the dorsal hull of the Imperator, a maintenance access hatch slid open as a lift carrying two spacesuited figures rose up to hull level. One was carrying what looked like a golf bag; the other had an argyle sweater vest over his spacesuit. With careful steps, they walked off the lift and towards the edge of the hull. The caddy set the bag on to the hull, activated the electromagnet contained in the base, and retrieved the driver, a ball and tee.

Captain Dodge placed the ball and tee on the hull of the warship, took the driver from his caddy, and slipped the safety lanyard around his wrist. As the ship passed Io, he squared up, and swung. "Wow," Ensign Pulver exclaimed, as sensor telemetry on the ball registered it entering a volcano on Io's Plains of Prometheus. "A hole in one, sir. Better than Sailor Jupiter's last shot. Man, I'd hate to be on the bridge of the _Jupiter_ when she finds out.

"Now, can we go back in before our suits get hit and depressurize?"

"Of course, Ensign. I just couldn't afford such an opportunity to slip by," Dodge replied, as they made their way back to the maintenance lift.

Makoto watched the diminutive forms of Dodge and Pulver walk across the hull of the _Wild Stallion_ from the bridge of her Vicstar. The faint red aura coming from the Senshi of Jupiter was shocking enough for the executive officer of her ship to step away from the viewports and wonder if she'll explode in righteous fury. After all, not only was she Ranma's sister, a Jedi Knight, and a Sailor Senshi, she also found time to play in the Japan's women's amateur golf league. "I can't believe a normal human was able to do that," she fumed. "That damned tattoo is going to be the least of his concerns when I'm finished with him."

Captain Ralgha gave the Jedi a catty smirk. "I believe Commanderrr Dodge has played golf prrrofesssionally, Lady Jupiterrr. Therrre arrre rrrumorrrs he did something similarrr while aboarrred the Amerrrican submarrrine _Orrrlando_. And subsequently got into trouble forrr it."

Makoto turned and pulled up his dossier photo on one of the terminals. As she appreciated the Commander's rugged good looks, the red aura dissipated, allowing the bridge crew a chance to release the breath they were holding. "You know, I've never had a tour of the ship. I wonder if he'll welcome me aboard," she mused quietly. Several officers and enlisted near her had to try hard, very hard, to keep straight faces.

_At least she didn't say he looked like herrr old sempai,_ Captain Ralgha thought to himself, as he returned to the business of running his warship.

00000

Ranma suddenly felt weak and nauseous, and wound up resting against the desk in his quarters. Setsuna looked at her husband. "Are you alright?"

"I've just had a dreadful image through the Force," he said, ominously. "As though it came from neither the Light nor the Dark, but from somewhere in between."

"Perhaps it was what your brother termed the 'Sticky' side of the Force," Setsuna commented, as her husband recovered from the tremor. "What was it?"

"For a moment, it was as though the voice of a sole man cried out, asking to be released. From Makoto's clutches, of all things."

"Oh my," Setsuna uttered, a knowing smirk appearing on her face, "I wonder who her 'victim' will be."

Ranma arched an eyebrow. "What aren't you telling me, my dear?"

"That, lover, is a secret."

"If it is Captain Dodge, remember, he's old enough to be her father. Mako-chan's only 17." Ranma shook his head. "Who'd have thought that my little sister is more perverted than my master's master."


	19. Chapter 18

**EarthForce Headquarters**  
Lunar Royal Palace

"General," Admiral Gerrod said, acknowledging the presence of his superior, as Ranma walked in. "I take this isn't a social call?"

"No, Gerrod, it is. How has operations around Sol been occurring?"

"The fleet's on constant rotation; Tibanna gas mining is beginning to meet expectations, as is ore mining in the asteroid field. Martian terraforming is in its earliest stages."

"Very good. And the prisoners? How are they adapting to being, well, prisoners?"

"That is a problem, General. I contemplated asking for the evacuation of the civilian population of Australia, and just turning it into a large penal colony. But those are far too many refugees to force on to the rest of the planet, and the inner colonies.

"As it is, we've placed most in northern Africa, as well as in the center of Australia, far from population centers. They have sufficient supplies to survive, but no weapons of any kind, or equipment that can be converted into weapons or explosives."

"Good, good…" Ranma was interrupted by an alarm klaxon sounding.

"_Planetary Alert, this is Crystal Palace to all EarthForce sections. Nuclear event detected—continental United States. This is not a drill; I say again, this is not a drill. All EarthForce stations remain online for further information._"

Ranma hit the communications stud on his desk. "Crystal Palace, this is EarthForce Actual online."

"_EarthForce Actual, go ahead._"

"What exactly are we dealing with here?"

"_Ranma, this is General Hammond at NORAD Headquarters. The detonation was in the Washington metropolitan area; we've scheduled a reconnaissance out of Edwards. The Blackbird should be airborne and on it's way within the hour. We'll know more when we get the report. But we're looking at over 1 million casualties_"

"Understood, General. We'll begin preparing rescue and recovery teams. Any word on President Whitmore?"

"_The President is at Camp David. However, the Cabinet and Congress were in Washington. NORTHCOM has begun closing and securing airspace above the continental United States, as well as placing all air defense assets and WMD teams on alert._"

Ranma shook his head. "Thank you General. I'll be sending Admiral Gerrod to take charge of the recovery operations. Keep us apprised of the situation." Hitting another set of control studs on his desk, Ranma pulled up a holographic map of the affected area. "With easterly winds, your best landing fields will be to the west of Washington, Admiral.

"I want you to set up your command post at Dulles Airport. It's close enough to the blast zone, but far enough away that it wasn't affected. I want a reconnaissance of BWI and Dover AFB as well. If they're clear, you can use them as treatment sites for radiation cases downwind."

"Of course, General. I'll see to having several of the freighters converted to medical ships. What about refugees?"

"Coordinate with Northern Command to utilize military installations outside the blast area, preferably the farther away the better. We'll have a lot of displaced civilians, and not a lot of time."

"_Command post to General Lim,_" the intercom squawked. "_Additional events detected—London, Moscow, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, Canberra, Seoul, New York. General, it looks like it's a massive and coordinated nuclear strike. Sir, NORAD's just been taken out. _"

"Dear god, no…" Gerrod whispered.

"Command post, put it on screen down here."

"_Aye sir._" The 72 inch LCD screen, that normally showed the goings on in Spacedock, lit up with a real-time composite image of the Earth. Areas targeted by nuclear weapons were highlighted with red circles. Additional events exploded on the screen as they happened.

"Where was Lady Pluto," Ranma asked, his voice tight. He didn't want to hear the answer.

"_Tokyo, sir. Visiting your mother._"

Ranma awoke with a start, and looked around his quarters. The darkened bedroom was lit with the pale glow of the Moon hanging above the Star Destroyer, as an old fashioned grandfather clock in the living room of the suite tolled the hour. As he used a breathing technique taught to his martial artist trained half by Tibetan monks to regain his center, he shook his head. "Just a dream," he said quietly.

"What was that Ranma," Setsuna asked, sleepily.

The Jedi Master pulled his wife into a hug. "I had a dream that first Washington, then other capitals were hit by a wave of nuclear attacks."

"Criofan? Or someone else?"

"I…don't know. It also didn't have the feel of a dream, but more of a future memory, or a Force-inspired vision."

"Something that will come to pass?"

"You're the Guardian of Time, Setsuna. You should know."

"Difficult to see, always in motion the future is," she replied, mysteriously.

"Only Yoda could get away with that," Ranma quibbled.

"It doesn't make it any less valid, my love."

"_Bridge to General Lim, we're beginning our final approach to the Royal Airdock._"

""Very well, then; advise Northern Command that I want to speak with the senior watch officer. I'll also want updates on the terraforming of Mars and the Jovian moons."

"_Understood, General._"

Ranma climbed out of bed and threw a robe over his track pants. "Time to go to work already," Setsuna asked.

"It is. I have a thousand things to do today. Especially if I want to prevent that from happening." Ranma was out of the bedroom before his wife could reply.

00000

A small EarthForce task group dropped out of hyperspace near a small, unassuming star system, some forty light-years distant from Vulcan. The smaller Corvettes took flanking and point positions, as the larger Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers Victory-class Star Destroyers stayed close to the core of the group—the EFS _Saturn_, and the newly commissioned _Yuri Gagarin_. Sensors had indicated that the dagger-shaped ship that had popped into the 40 Eridani system picked up faint traces of her passing through this system, before losing the signal entirely in this system.

It was a rather inelegant system that the EarthForce taskforce was searching. The star gave off hard radiation that played havoc with the sensors and Stargate ring transporters so recently installed on the former Imperial and Republic warships, while large clusters of asteroids funneled ships through specific channels, like the Straits of Malacca on Earth. Of course, the shielding on the ships was more than sufficient to protect the human occupants of the 10 starships. It was within this style of star system that pirates were quite comfortable operating in, a concept that the former Republic Navy officers were familiar with.

Hotaru stood on the bridge of her Imperator, having long since gotten over the awe of having men and women much older than her reporting to her. "Anything at all, Mr. Bellamy?"

The former US Air Force AWAC sensor operator looked through his screen. "Nothing at all, Lady Saturn. At least what I can see through the natural jamming that star is putting out." Lieutenant Bellamy was something of a wunderkind in the AWAC community. He was able to pick out a threat through even the heaviest of jamming. This was why he'd been assigned to the Saturn, as she took lead on the hunting unknown ship. "As it is, ma'am, I'm lucky to see the _Agamemnon_ three light seconds out."

The teenaged Senshi of Destruction sighed. "Alright. Captain Ramsay signal the fleet to make the jump to lightspeed." Command of a starship had definitely given her a boost to her self-confidence.

"Yes ma'am," the _Saturn_'s captain replied. The elderly Alderaanian walked on to the catwalk above the command pit. "Communications send the fleet…"

"Captain! New contacts bearing 45 mark 270 relative. Distance 40 thousand kilometers."

Ramsay looked over towards the sensor station. "How many?"

"Best guess 5 ships, sir. Unable to determine class or type."

Ramsay looked over to Hotaru. "Hailing frequencies, Captain," she said. "Let's see if they're at least friendly."

"Of course, Lady Saturn." Captain Ramsay turned towards the communications officer. "Hailing frequencies, Lieutenant."

Bellamy stared and squinted into his display, trying to watch the five unknown contacts. "30 thousand kilometers, Captain," he called. "Targets entering weapons range."

He looked over the screen again, when the communications officer called out from the pit. "Captain,_Agamemnon_ is reporting inbound missiles, and requesting permission to return fire!"

Ramsay looked at the teenaged Senshi. Hotaru had a momentary look of confusion on her face, as though she was remembering something in the distant past; before she looked back at her flagship's captain. "Defend my battlegroup, Captain. Weapons free."

"Yes, milady," he replied. "Communications—to all ships: 'Weapons free. I say again, weapons free,' and inform EarthForce Headquarters we are being engaged by unidentified ships. Tactical—Sound battlestations, set Condition 1 throughout the ship."

Lighting on the bridge of the _Saturn_ dimmed, as alert klaxons resonated throughout the mile-long battleship. The drive units on the escorting Corvettes began to glow as their captains increased their speed to intercept the bogies, while the capital ships began long-range bombardment of the hostile ships.

"Captain," the communications officer called, "_Odysseus_ is reporting a radiological alarm…"

She was interrupted by the tactical officer, and multiple alarms going off. "Nukes loose, I say again, nukes have been deployed by the hostile ships." Detonations in the megaton range could be seen in the distance, illuminating the particle and ray shielding of the EarthForce ships. Ruby and emerald laser and turbolaser bolts crisscrossed with the opposing battlegroup's energy weapons.

Hotaru sat in the command seat, watching her officers fight the battle. At least that's what it would appear she was doing. Were one to actually look at her eyes, they would notice a dull, vacant look—the "thousand yard stare"—as if the Senshi of Destruction was remembering a battle 30 millennia ago, where wave after wave of demonic warships overwhelmed the Lunar Court's naval forces. Of course, one might also assume that she was nervous for one of the pilots in the 542d Fighter Squadron, embarked on the flagship for this mission. Rumor had it, and even on a mile-long battleship the grapevine is as efficient as in a high school, Hotaru and this particular pilot had been seen in various locations throughout the ship, mainly just walking arm in arm and quietly talking.

The _Saturn_ was rocked, as multiple blasts from one of the opposing force's destroyers—an ugly squat green-grey thing, whose bridge sat far forward of the engines, on a thin connecting neck—strafed the battlegroup flagship. Personnel on the bridge of the EarthForce Star Destroyer were knocked to the deck as inertial dampening lagged, then caught up. A short-lived ball of fire erupted on the forward face of the command tower, as the bridge deflector screen failed. "Bridge deflector out!" The tactical officer shouted over the din of klaxons. "Back ups are not responding."

"Intensify forward batteries," Captain Ramsay ordered, as the mile-long battleship trembled from hits along her armor. "Nothing gets through."

"Captain, _Yamato_'s been hit. Power failure to most of her systems. _Invincible_ and_Nemesis_ are towing her out of the combat zone."

"Sith spit. Communications, task_Hornblower_ and _Nimitz_ to provide cover."

"Yes sir."

Off in the distance and lost amid the wash of electromagnetic pulses, background radiation, and the starfield, a missile launched before it could get an accurate lock on a ship had locked on to the largest signature it found—the _Saturn_. Hotaru shivered, before fixing her gaze on a certain spot, on the ship's relative 12 o'clock. Even as experienced bridge officers ducked as two more enemy destroyers exploded near the command tower, the Senshi of Destruction was already walking towards the forward-most viewports, Glaive in hand.

She stopped and stared past her reflection in the transparent steel viewport, her eyes tracking the unseen missile. Ramsay looked at the nominal commander of the battlegroup, before a realization came to him. "Helm," he called over the din, "evasive maneuvers! Tactical, more firepower forward. Melt the barrels if you have to. Engineering, where are my damn shields?" A free-fire zone erupted all along the dorsal hull of the Star Destroyer as laser and turbolaser tried to shoot down the incoming missile…which was about as effective as taking a mallet to a certain perverted troll.

"Hang on," Ramsay called out to the bridge crew as the missile became visible in the viewport. _Dear gods, we're going to die,_ he privately thought to himself. He'd seen several Star Destroyers die in this very same manner.

Bringing the Silence Glaive parallel to the deck of her ship, Hotaru quietly said "Silence Wall," and focused the defensive barrier into a bubble surrounding the bridge module. The 10 megaton warhead detonated against the barrier, bathing the forward hull of the command tower in nuclear fury. Shadows were burned into the bulkheads before the viewports functioned as designed—automatically turning opaque to protect the crew from flash.

Hotaru fought the blast, to keep the Silence Wall from collapsing, and allowing the lethal radiation to kill off the command crew. Sweat began to bead on the teenager's brow as the strain of holding the barrier up against the raw elemental fury of a thermonuclear explosion. As soon as it began, however, it was over. The _Saturn_ had maneuvered clear of the blast, as the evasive maneuvers her helmsman inputted caught up with her inertia. With a small grin on her face, Hotaru let the Glaive fall from her suddenly weakened hands; the blade silently embedding itself in the polished black deck.

Several officers rushed over to Hotaru, as she followed the Glaive to the deck. "Milady," Ramsay asked, as he sat her up.

"I'm glad…I was able…to save my…ship…this time," she whispered.

"Captain, medics are on the way," the communications officer said. "All ships have reported in, with various extents of damage. Enemy casualties are at 95. Two small ships have reportedly escaped."


End file.
